19mo hitting parents

[iloveyousillybilly]

19mo dd hits me and dh if she doesn't get what she wants or if we're being affectionate with each other. We've tried all the obvious things, ask her to say sorry, say it's an unkind thing to do etc. but none of it is working. She'd say sorry then hit us again immediately afterwards, obviously still doesn't understand what sorry means!

Any advice on how to deal with this much appreciated, dh and I are tired of being woken up by an angry hitting toddler!

bump

It takes a long time. You can't just think 'none of it is working' with a 19 month old. Nothing is going to 'work' quickly.

Distraction/ redirection - catch her before she does it and draw her attention to something else. Ignore, as far as possible (while moving out of the way) the hitting, and try teaching her something acceptable - 'kind hands' or 'gentle' maybe. Big praise for the nice touches.

DS is now 22 months and doesn't do it so much, but he's fond of saying 'smack mummy' for a reaction!

Good luck.