When Toddlers Get Rough

When toddlers get rough... 👋 👋 👋 

Your automatic response might be "we don't hit" but that is a difficult concept to grasp, especially since toddlers don't know their own strength. Try to observe the situation and figure out what your toddler is trying to convey to you.

1) Is a child or sibling in their space? 
2) Is a child or sibling taking a toy that they want?
3) Are they trying to tell you something by getting a rise out of you?

The first thing to say and do is to make your hand flat and put it in between the children and say "I am putting my hand here to keep everybody safe. It’s my job to keep everybody safe” and then it is really about trying to observe what the child is trying to convey. See above points ⬆️

Now toddler hitting... kids don’t know their own strengths💪 What you can do is demonstrate for your child what a soft touch looks and feels like by taking your hand and placing it on their face, saying “this is what gentle feels like. Now you show me on my face how gentle feels.” That way they have a physical example of what their touch feels like.