My son is kicking my butt!

[~sarah~]

Seriously, he hurts me! He bites, pinches, and pulls my hair all the time. He does it when he's mad, happy, excited, or just playing around. I say "NO" in a stern voice and he just laughs at me.

My mom says he never bites her. WTH, why me? And what can I do? I should add that I'm not a spanker, so any non-physical suggestions that you may have would be appreciated.

[River_Song]

Well, usually they do it because they've picked it up from other kids, or they like the reaction it gets from you. What I do with Peter is I put him in time out. He is 22 months old and we have a zero tolerance policy for violence. Any hitting, etc, gets him in time out in his crib or I will walk over the baby gate, just physically remove him from me. I tell him, we don't hit, etc. "I don't want to be with you when you bite." So far it works pretty good.

Oh by the way! You're the Sarah I knew a million years ago on Diaper Traders! May that site rot in the fiery dark place, but great to see you again! Neighbor!

[~sarah~]

Thanks Diana. Are you still in Sweet Home? Think it'll actually snow this weekend? I hope so! :D

[Naturallia]

in mine, it's sensory seeking behavior and a signal he needs roughhousing.

[~sarah~]

in mine, it's sensory seeking behavior and a signal he needs roughhousing.

Hmmm, I never thought of that. He does love to wrestle! I'll have to try that next time he does it.

[okiedokiemama]

We do timeouts here too, I tell them to go sit on the bed until they calm down and can be nice. If I'm lucky they fall asleep before they decide to get up, probably because they tend to be rowdier and meaner when thy are tired anyways. When mine were still crib sleepers we didn't usually do timeouts in the bed, I would just pick them up and set them on the other side of the room, as far from me as possible but still where I could see them, I would tell them "that's not nice, you hurt mommy, I don't like that." It works for us.

[pastelsummer]

try the rough housing or try redirecting to a softer touch.

[River_Song]

Thanks Diana. Are you still in Sweet Home? Think it'll actually snow this weekend? I hope so! :D

Yup, I am, and yup, I hope it will. It's been fa-fa-freezing here!