My DS has always been very lively and goes through phases of being more difficult - like most kids
The last couple of weeks have seen us reach new levels with hitting, kicking and generally lashing out all the time. Yesterday he hit me over the back of the head with a wooden toy which hurt a lot and really upset me.
We take a hardline approach to violent behaviour and use the naughty step which works to a degree (ie he is contrite and apologises) but it isn't slowing down this behaviour and. He will not do anything i say at the moment and his immediate response is to lash out at me. I realised yesterday I was flinching as I went near him and this made me really 
At the moment I feel like all I do is tell him off, he doesn't like me much at the moment and won't cuddle or kiss me at all. My DH takes the same line but DS is much more forgiving of him
2 issues worth noting:
He has a baby sister 6 months old
He is currently giving up day time naps and is awful when he's tired, he's gone from napping for 2.5 - 3hrs in the afternoon to being very difficult to persuade to nap at all
Is this a phase? Will it pass? Any tips? This morning he stamped on 2 snails and though I'm not the world's greatest fan of snails I wondered if this is normal 2 yr old behaviour????