My 16 mo dd is usually a pretty mellow gal. Today, however, we had a 22 mo over for a playdate, and my dd hit the 22 mo repeatedly. Every 5 minutes she would walk over and hit her without any provocation. When the hitting occurred, I would tell my dd, "hitting isn't nice, touch gently' and demonstrate. However, a few minutes later dd would hit the kid again, and then smile. If I picked my dd up following a hit, she would scream and twist like I was murdering her. The poor 22 mo just froze in place during all this.
We ended up ending the playdate early, b/c my dd just was not able to stop hitting.
A few days ago I was at a mixed age playdate and a huge 2 yr old repeatedly knocked my dd over, and even bit her. Ever since, my dd seems to think hitting is acceptable.
What to do? I know it's a stage, but how should I respond ro her hitting? After it became apparent that my dd was overly interested in hitting the 22 mo, I sat within a few inches of dd to prevent her attacks, but she's really fast. Oy vey--what should have been an enjoyable time was just awful.
We ended up ending the playdate early, b/c my dd just was not able to stop hitting.
A few days ago I was at a mixed age playdate and a huge 2 yr old repeatedly knocked my dd over, and even bit her. Ever since, my dd seems to think hitting is acceptable.
What to do? I know it's a stage, but how should I respond ro her hitting? After it became apparent that my dd was overly interested in hitting the 22 mo, I sat within a few inches of dd to prevent her attacks, but she's really fast. Oy vey--what should have been an enjoyable time was just awful.
