Pinching, hitting, scratching, throwing, and biting are all perfectly normal behavior for kids that are within the 8-9 month old to 18 month old range. If your child hasn't already done these things, then rest assured the day will come when they do do those things. it doesn't mean they're going to be super aggressive or naughty children, they just haven't learned how to control their emotions yet, and they act out of instinct. And sometimes children do these things because they get a reaction out of people, like the first time, because of shock value, maybe you laughed a little bit, or maybe you over-reacted. Children like attention, whether it be positive or negative.

In order to overcome these behaviors, you need to enforce consistency and persistently what your expectations are. When your child does something, you may feel like telling them what they should and shouldn't do will get them to stop, but at that age, they don't really understand language. But they do understand body language and tone, so firmly say "No" every time they do it, and set the expectation, make it very clear, and then say "Hands are not for hitting", or "We don't pinch". And after doing it enough times, they will eventually catch on. You may start to feel like a broken record, but your efforts will definitely pay off.

My son was a hitter. He liked to hit a lot, and we had to work with him consistently, and we found a program that really worked for us. It was "Hands Are Not For Hitting". And this can apply to pinching, scratching, throwing things, whatever it may be that they're doing with their hands. Grab their hands and say "Hands are not for...", let's use "hitting" as an example, and then count backwards from 10, and just sit there, and look them in the face, and be stern. And after enough times, he just learned that he didn't want to be confined. And I knew we were making progress when he went to hit me and then all of a sudden he stopped. It will work if you consistently and persistently enforce your expectation.

Also try catching your child doing positive things, like when they're gentle and they're kind. Point it out and tell them that they're doing a good job. And talk to them about being gentle and kind, because, again, kids love attention, so if you're giving them more positive attention, then they may not feel the need to act out by doing negative things.

Distraction can also work wonders with this age group. So after you've tried to remedy the situation, and you've been firm and consistent in enforcing expectations, then distract your child and help them move on by moving to a new room, giving them a different toy, or turning on some music, reading a book, whatever it is, just so you can both move on from it. If you have more questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at [ Ссылка ], and recommend us to your friends and family too.

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