14 month old scratcher! - What do I do to stop it? HELP!!

[mammabelleboo]

Sorry if this has been done before....my 14 month old dd has been scratching for a few months now & i've tried all sorts to discourage her but nothing seems to work. She is scratching out at faces - she's done it to me, hubby, nannies, grampies, aunties, cousins - mostly when they go in close for a kiss, they get a scratched face instead! The more you say no etc, the more she will do it - have tried doing it back to her (gently) but she just laughs! I'm sure she knows I don't want her to keep doing it - when I say no, it seems to make her more determined to do it & she will do it all the more. Once, I thought I'd see how long she would do it for & she scratched at my chest for a good minute before I had to stop her as I was red raw! She will sometimes, after I've told her off & pretended to cry (another tactic that dosn't seem to work) give me a cuddle as if to say sorry & that she knows she's done wrong, but this dosn't happen often. It really upsets me as I am concerned that at this young age she is showing an angry streak that I really want to stamp out. I'm also frightened she will start to do it to the other little ones at playgroup - that won't be popular with the other mums! HELP!!

[NAB3]

This is similar to my son who is now 18 months. He hits the cat, us, his siblings, etc. But he is doing it as an affectionate pat. Because he is a good size it can be rougher than he realises. They get a reaction which is why they do it again. They aren't doing it to be mean as they don't understand that concept yet. We keep saying gently over and over and then move him away and say a firm no if he carries on. HTH.