14 mo hitting self in face when told no!!!!!

[bluesmile10]

MY 14 mo ds has recently started to hit himself in the face or forehead when we tell him No about something - is this a usual phase? I'm really not sure where's he got it from, someone has suggested he may be copying someone else at nursery. I'm finding it a little worrying? How do we tackle it?

[TheDeathlyMarshmallows]

No idea but my 4 year old does it too, has done since he was quite small and nothing seems to stop him although it is happening less often recently. I guess it's just their way of coping and they'll grow out of it as they learn other strategies??

[skybluepearl]

mine used to do it when he was cross. he was dealing with difficult emotions physically. he knew he wasn't allowed to hit people but would hit himself. i hated it but ignored it. thankfully it has stopped. took a year maybe?

[monkoray]

It sounds very similar to the head butting phase my ds went through. When he was frustrated he'd find the hardest thing in the room and headbutt it. It came out of nowhere, lasted a few months and then stopped. Only advice is try not to overreact when he does it. If possible just ignore or say "don't hit"