L. D- you're living my life!! =) I have a 22-month old son who is a first-class hitter. He even hit his teacher the other day at his Mom's Morning Out preschool program. (I was so proud.) When people tell him how cute he is at the grocery store, he responds by slapping me. Like you, I've tried time-out, but for some reason he finds it hilarious and giggles until he's finished. I've tried holding his hands in mine, getting down to his level, looking him right in the eyes, and saying, "No hitting", but he usually finds high humor in that, too- or else he gets aggravated and hits me again as soon as his hands are free. The thing that's worked the best for me is to pretend he's trying to give me a high five, even though he clearly isn't. I'll say, "High five!" and put my palm out to him, and he'll usually grin and start slapping my palm. This usually distracts him from hitting. Sometimes I even do this rhyme I learned from my seven-year-olds when I was a summer camp counselor in college: "Slap me five, other side, in the jelly (act like you're holding a jar of jelly)... GOT YOUR BELLY!!" Then tickle his belly. He'll start to anticipate the tickling and focus on that. Usually a few rounds of that distracts my son from the hitting. Another trick I try is "Creepmouse", which my nana used to do when we were little. You make your fingers creep along his little body like a little mouse, starting with the toes and creeping up the leg, side, shoulder, and landing on that ticklish spot behind the ear and along the nape of the neck. While you're doing it, you whisper, "Creeeeep-mouse, creeeeep-mouse... all the way up to (your son's name)'s house!" End with a tickle under the ear and at the nape of the neck. My son is an absolute wild man, but he will totally freeze up and stay completely still for "Creepmouse." He anticipates the tickling, and the gentle creeping makes little goosebumps come up on his legs. He has a huge smile on the whole time! Even after he bursts into giggles from the tickling, he'll get all calm and quiet again, waiting for the next round. Amazingly, "Creepmouse" will usually distract my son from hitting and many other bad things he's trying to do. It also works wonders on the changing table or when I'm trying to buckle my son into his car or booster seat and he's resisting like mad. After I do it once, he'll usually whisper, "'Reepmouse" so I'll do it again. I know I need to reinforce that hitting is bad, but he finds all manner of discipline hysterical and it seems to encourage him at this point. So until he can reason and verbalize more effectively, distraction works best for me. I can still do the time-outs at home, but out in public I always rely on distractions. By the way, I'm also a teacher (though I'm taking some time off right now) and I also have two little boys- my other son is three months. My older son's hitting and misbehavior intensified when we brought home the new baby- I don't know if you experienced that or not. My e-mail is ____@____.com if you ever want to discuss the perils (and joys) of having two very little boys. =)
B.