I need a strategy for coping with DD's hitting before we go to toddlers..

[TreeTrunkThighs]

We haven't been to toddler group for a few weeks - half term, voting etc.

In these three weeks DD2 has been hitting out at people - mainly me and dd1 but I am a little bit worried that she is going to wallop someone at toddlers today and would like to have a strategy in mind for dealing with it before we go.

She is coming up 20 months.

So far I have just told her no and moved away from her - this makes her cry like mad and need a hug, which I give.

The other parents at toddlers seem to favour a slap on the hand and time out. Slapping is a definite no-no here and I feel she is too young for time out - is she?

Any thoughts would be fab!

Before going speak to her about no hitting and why not.

At the toddler group, if she hit, I would just remove her from where she was and bring her alongside me with a firm 'No, remember, we don't do that, it's not nice and it hurts' and an apology and fuss to the hittee.

I would also be very alert to whatever she was doing and be ready to intervene before she hit.

If she was persisting, I'd take her home (after a warning) and tell her why.

I'd also keep an eye on her to see what triggers the hitting. It might be in retaliation for something one of the other children had done to her. If that was the case I would still be firm about her not hitting but tone it down to show her that I understood her frustration. Also let her know what she should do if someone hits her or upsets her rather than her hitting them.