20mo dd hitting mummy!!

[tlwsmum]

Hi

well i am really at a loss with this one. dd of 20 months seems to really enjoy hitting me, and telling me off and i really dont know why!

I tell her off firmly, saying 'no, you mustnt hit' but she completely ignores this and copies me,saying 'no' and telling me off back and waving her finger at me!. dont know where shes got hitting behaviour from, me and dh certainly have never acted like this in front of her.

have tried ignoring her; takes no notice
have taken a toy off her; takes no notice
have pretended to cry; she pretends to cry back - everything seems futile

i dont know whether she understands at this age = should i be telling her off for this? it's awful seeing her act like this!

help! has anyone else had experience of this? am i giving her enough attention? is she doing it so i will give her my undivided attention? she is also very clingy...

x

My ds is 23m and has had moments of this. I totally ignore him, then attract his attention within say, 20 seconds with something he likes. At first it almost felt like I was rewarding his behaviour by playing a favourite toy, but it's just a distraction IMO and 20 seconds is long enough for him not to associate it with rewarding, IYSWIM. And by totally ignoring the hitting he soon got bored of it.

MIL seems to still get whacked a lot though tbh! And that certainly is for attention, she comes over for coffee and practically ignores him, yet she really thinks she does lots with him. She just yabbers on and he ended up standing on her toes, book in hand saying "up, grandma, up there, grandma" today. FIL had to tell her he was talking to her . SO, I'm sure it is for attention, and I have never pretended to cry as I thought this was more like a reaction he may appreciate! HTH