He thinks it's funny!

[AuNaturaleMama]

DS has just started picking up unwanted behaviors namely pulling my hair and swatting people in the face. I've tried holding his hand and with a poker face saying "dont pull mommy's hair. It hurts.". He'd just repeat it as soon as I let go or swat at my face.

Pretending to cry didn't help either.

Last night when laying in bed he started pulling my hair and hitting both DH and I. We both took turns holding his hands and sternly saying "do not hit!" DS thought it was funny. In fact he'd giggle and then repeat.

Had it not been the middle if the night I would have put him out of the bed or walked away.

How do I get through to him that this is discipline and not funny?

[ASusan]

It's normal. He is trying to reconnect with you to "repair" your relationship.

[ScottyG]

I had a similar situation with my 2YO last year... she kept hitting her (tiny baby!) sister on the head, and would get disciplined for it, after which she would just do it again.

I don't know enough about your situation to say, but in our situation our daughter just LOVED the repetition and routine so much, that even if it were a negative thing, she'd want to repeat it over and over because she loves routine.

So the way I fixed it (which was hard) was just to break the cycle.  For a whole week I didn't let her play with her sister at anything approaching close range.  Didn't make a big deal out of it, played happily, just made sure she played a few feet away.  After a week, I slowly started letting her back in her sister's space, and she'd forgotten the cycle enough that the hitting was gone.

Maybe you could work at keeping him away from all hair and faces for a little while?  See if he forgets the pattern?

[texmati]

my son's about your son's age, and we've had good luck with 'gentle touch' and 'one finger touch'. One finger touch is the most useful because it can be used on objects too! basically, if he slaps, I take his hand and form one finger, and show him how to gently stroke with one finger. The whole process distracts him from the hilarity of hitting, and shows him something *to* do instead of not to do.