C.L.
I personally think it is the age thing more than you working or going to school. My daughter did the hitting me thing and acting out around the same time. I am a teacher, but she was acting out in the summer (16-17 months old) when I am home with her everyday. She is now about 21 months old and is getting better. We started giving her timeouts at that age and it actually worked pretty well. She says Sorry and gives hugs after each timeout and it allows myself and her time to calm down. I am currently working as a full-time teacher and don't feel guilty about it, because I am doing what is best for our family. Many stay at home moms are able to cut back and make it work, but not everybody can do that. Also, just because you are home everyday doesn't mean you are spending quality time with your kids. We have a mortgage payment that requires me to work and we can't just sell our house in this market. We also enjoy vacations, eating out and my daughter loves to do all the activities that I can afford since I do work full-time 8 months out of the year. I am considering working part-time when I have #2 in March since it will be a lot easier on our family to not have to rush out the door every morning.