16 month dd keeps hitting me!

[mamamoomins]

Help am finding it difficult to manage an at times stroppy 16 month daughter who keeps managing to hit me around the head often with heavy plastic toys!! Any ideas is this normal? At other times thank goodness she is an angel!

Any techniques been tried apart from protective head gear

Thanks

I am regularly battered by my 19 month old DS! I know he doesn't mean to hurt me - he's just playing - but I get scratched, hit, hair pulled etc. At least the biting phase has past. I just say very firmly (with a serious face which is hard because usually he's laughing) "no, you mustn't hit/scratch Mummy". Gradually the message gets through!

a firm no as Rachel said, and I'd remove either yourself or the child from the close proximity you were in; go off to the other side of the room to show that no attention is given to hitting, and distraction - get them onto something else. softer.

My ds (20 months) does this too - hits me and kicks me when I am changing his nappy (not funny when you are 25 weeks pg!!). I say to him in a low, stern tone, "No, don't hit mummy, it hurts". As a result, "hurts" is now a word he understands and used correctly when he banged his head! .

However he doesn't always take notice, so now if he won't listen I put him firmly down on the floor and turn my back on him - total lack of attention often does the trick.

Thanks all you have all confirmed what i thought minimal attention will do it!