Aggressive Toddler

[Aqua118]

Hi everyone!
My two year old has become increasingly aggressive since I brought his baby brother home from the hospital. He is doing a lot of pushing, hitting, biting, and hair pulling. Any advice on how to handle this?

Toddlers do this sort of thing a lot. I don’t know why they’re like this, baby or no baby, but a lot of them are. Here’s what works:

Ignore negative behaviour. Give him zero attention for it.

Take away whatever he is using. If he’s pulling your hair, take away his access to you by going in another room, putting him down in the playpen or on the other side of a gate. If he’s hitting you with things, take them away and put them up. If he’s hitting other people/pets, remove them or him.

Redirect. Give him another action or activity he can be praised for. Give him positive attention.

Talk it out. Tell him the truth and set boundaries like he’s an adult. “That hurt, and I’m not going to let you hit me again. That makes me very angry!”

As long as he gets lots of attention for positive behaviour and you see strong boundaries and teach him feelings words, it will work itself out.