Play Fighting vs Hitting

[Mumtonone]

Advice please. I have a soon to be three year old boy, who is very much into rough and tumble play. My husband encourages this, saying it's harmless fun - which in the most part it is.

However being a toddler he blurs the boundaries between play and reality. Over the last week I have been hit on a number of occasions, two to the face and really quite painful; both occasions we were not play fighting at the time.

My husband repeatedly still puts it down to 'he's just playing' and 'he didn't meant to hurt you'. With this mornings comment to me (he threw a full milk bottle at me and it me full whack on the bridge of my nose) that I need to 'harden up'.

Admittedly I'm more of a girl girl, but I don't find this funny anymore. Am I over reacting....?

Ds is 2 and we don't encourage play fighting. Rough and tumble is fine but any hitting or kicking is definitely not. Ds is still a bit young and does often get carried away but you need to keep reinforcing the difference between play and violence.

My DH does a lot of rough and tumble and I don't like it much but DS (3) is VERY clear that mummy doesn't do play fighting and that other people don't either. He gets a very sharp word if he oversteps that line. He knows well not to do it with other kids either. I don't tolerate it.

Kids are very smart and can easily be taught that play fighting only is acceptable with daddy.