My 18 mos old son is the same. We say "no, don't hit. it hurts" and try to hold his hands down.  If he hits again we give him a time out, and then say "tell mommy sorry, give me a hug."  I find he hits more when he's tired or hungry.  Because they don't have the language skills,  hitting or flailing around is a way to show their frustration or anger.  The key is to give a name to what they are feeling (i.e., you are angry or frustrated) and to be consistent in how you react to their behavior.  It's not easy to deal with or quick to stop, unfortunately, but I think that it will get better as their language skills improve, and with consistency.  Hope this helps!

My 18 mth old screams every time I stop the pram. He just wants to be on the move constantly. i have learnt how to ignore the disapproving looks. One time a lady even came up to me and told me I should comfort him as he was crying. I told her she could go ahead and give him a cuddle but that he would scream just as hard if we tried to return him to the pram. And that I was his mother and did know better. She declined and went on her way looking a little miffed. As for the hitting. You are doing the right thing at home by just putting him down and walking away. Telling him that it is naughty and hurts mummy is also a good idea. When out if he hits, tell him no that hurt and put him down. In a trolley, on a bench or even just sit him between your feet. At that age they are learning their boundaries so it is a good idea to get them set the way you want them for the future. Good Luck!

My now three year old Jack use to hit out at any of the other siblings, myself and his father because he was basically a very spoilt child being the youngest of 5 and this was his way of communicating.  Smacking him caused him to rebel so I actually adopted a cuddle and little chat approach.  This worked so well that I actually cannot remember when he stopped the hitting.  Cuddle him it is so much nicer for the both of you.

Make him stop , if he hits u say its very naughty 2 hit u , my son used 2 do it aswell , And also Try and get him 2 start walkin round instead of the pram , he needs 2 know that u can have brakes from walkin round ..

I can't really give you advice for the hitting, because I used to just put Francis in the high chair and wait until he was over his little hissy fit, as for being out when he does this, don't give a rats about what the other people do, you just ignore it and keep on going...

What other people don't know is your child is being a pain to you and he will eventually calm down and behave...  My theroy is that those who look at you and give you the "Oh my god can't control her kid look" is that they have either forgotten what it is like, or just don't have kids.  So I don't bother worrying about what looks I get.

Before came up with my theroy (actually it was given to me) I would just say to myself  "One day I hope you have kids like this... "   Hey worked for my mother... :)  Now I totally understand what she meant when she said that to me.... :)

My son recently started hitting too, either when he didn't get his way or when he gets frustrated (he'll hit what ever it is that's frustrating him). Out and about, rather than at home, isn't so different. I turn him to face me (or I'll crouch down in front of his stroller if he's in it) and I'll tell him in a firm voice 'No. You don't hit.'. It's important to be at his eye level, rather than looming over him. He needs to see your face as well as hear your voice, so he can see how serious you are. It's a little embarrassing, in public, but I had to learn to put that aside and do it anyway. If you're consistent at home and not when you're out he'll quickly learn that when you're not home he can get away with it. It's worked a treat for my son, although I feel kind of bad for upsetting him. He'd often cry, because he was upset that I wasn't happy with him, but it worked.

As for the pram, my son would do much the same thing. I don't know if this will be much help to you but I found that the reason Tristan got upset when I stopped is that he was bored. While we were walking around there were lots of things to see (he really loves watching cars drive by on the way to and from home). I fixed it by finding interesting spots when I had to stop. Facing the road (so he could watch cars), facing him towards people moving about, that kind of thing. Sometimes you end up somewhere boring and it can't be helped, but maybe your little guy is as unhappy about his people-watching being interrupted as mine was :)

My little boy also hits me as well and whenever I smacked him, he would just hit me back harder. I can't say I've found a solution to that yet but I have read the Supernanny book and it says that once the child turns 2 you can start disciplining them with a naughty chair/naughty mat, etc. So I'm hanging out for my boy to turn 2 so I can finally start teaching him right from wrong.

As to the pram thing - does he know how to walk yet? My son also did this and I get the stares as well. I thought I only kept getting looked at because I was such a young mum but I guess nosy citizens will roll their eyes or shake their heads to any of us mums dealing with a difficult child. Try to ignore them even though it is really hard.

Well what I found helped is letting my son walk to the shops (we live 5 mins from the shop) and by the time we got there he was so tired out that he would let me strap him into the stroller without any complaints or tantrums. Also you could try switching from a pram to a stroller. My son refuses to get in the pram now and the stroller helped out heaps with that. Lastly you could put him into the trolley instead of pushing him around in a pram - this offers him a different viewpoint, enables him to see you and makes him feel taller. Lastly snacks always help - a baby muesli bar, some rice cakes, a box of sultanas, etc. Oh and if you're doing shopping in Target etc. and you're having the same problem I find that giving him a toy off the shelf keeps him entertained for a while and when he starts getting antsy again I just put back that toy and give him a new one. Older kids play with the toys in the shop all the time and if it keeps your little one quiet then it's well worth it. Just don't get sucked into buying all the toys like I did! Lol luckily Christmas is coming up!

Anyway I hope this is of some help to you and let me know how it goes! Good Luck sweetie!! xox

my daughther went through a strage when she was your sons age but it was very short lived, i never smacked her as i thought it was a bit hypocritical if i did and i believed it was just showing her that hitting was ok. when she hit me i said firmly but not yelling at her NO and placed her down in front of me and ignored her for about a minute. i had to do this every time she hit me and she soon got the idea that mummy wont hold or play with me if i do this. as for when your out in the stroller the only thing i can say about that is to try and ignore the idiots who stare make you feel bad, you can only do your best in whatever situations present themselves and with toddlers there are many each and every time you go out. just say to yourself your a good mum and he will eventually grow out of it.