How to Handle 13 Month Old Who Hits

I have a few suggestions:

Get "Signing Times" DVDs from your local library (or buy them on Ebay). My dd knows over 20 signs and it GREATLY reduces tantrums and frustration. It will take a few weeks of daily watching and you will have to reinforce the signs. It's fun to watch and do with your child.

Get "Positive Discipline" by Jane Nelsen. GREAT book...deals with this problem.

Do what I call the "hug and hold" method. Next time he hits, calmly put him on your lap facing out and gently hold his arms next to his body..."hands aren't for hitting"...hold him there gently for a bit. He won't like it. After a few minutes, release him, and show him how to ask for something (sign "please"). He will do it again, so you passively GENTLY restrain him again. It will take a few times but he will get the message. You can check some of my past posts to see me expand on this. Good luck....:)

This happened w/one of my kids. I would just hold whatever hand they hit with, sternly say no hitting, and then walk away. They quickly realized if they want mommy to stay and play, they dont hit.

put him in time out. tell him in a firm voice that is not nice, you do not hit mommy. i do that when my son hits me. he gets mad sometimes when he does not get what he wants or if he is tired. sometimes they can not vocalize so they hit to express their fustration. if he is in the living room he goes in his pack in play for time out and if in the bedroom he is put in his crib. time out is one minute for each year they are. last night my son was hitting daddy and i picked him up and said that is not nice and put him in his crib. he fell asleep shortly afterwards.

He is expressing his frustration with being disciplined. If you can give him another way to express it, and get it out without hitting, that will help. You can give him words, even though he isn't talking yet, or not much. Maybe when you take whatever it is away, you can say, "It's time to do something else. Let's put this down, or stop throwing this, and now we're going to ___________________" No options, but it refocuses the situation from, "No! You bad boy! I'm taking this away" to, "Okay, we're done with that adventure. Let's go on a different one." It might be sitting at the table coloring something, going for a walk, whatever, have some ideas up your sleeve in advance, so you can pull them out on a moment's notice.

It is a phase which seems more common with boys but you are right to put a stop to it now. He is testing you and he is likely frustrated because he can't speak yet. Throwing everything is also a big boy trait I'm told by professionals. I've done some of the following things and they've seemed to help and my son seems to be at the end of his hitting phase because how he is tickling with his hands instead and I just laugh and laugh and tickle him back.

*Redirecting which you are already doing, basically ignoring his behavior, not making a big deal out of it
*Holding his hands steady and kissing them, tell him hands are for nice touches
*If necessary, completely remove him from the adult or other child he is hitting, hold him on your lap if necessary, and calmly and firmly tell him hitting is not nice
*Avoid giving him things that you will have to later take away. We gave our son a duplicate remote control that looks like ours but is for him only. We also bought him numerous toy cell phones. You can also buy cheap remotes at Walmart.

I wish you lots of luck.

You must be a great mom, since you have a happy son, you know about redirection, and you're HERE looking for advice :) Remember the Golden Rule (Treat others as you would like to be treated). When he has an item he shouldn't, hold out your hand, smile and say "May I have that please?" Or, hand him a toy he really likes, making the trade. When he hits, show sadness. Ask for a kiss where it hurt.

I would tell him that "We don't hit. Hitting hurts." every time he tries it. Kids need to know that while it is OK to FEEL angry, it's not OK to hit.
Does he talk much? If not, he's hitting out of frustration of not being able to express his feelings. You could try some basic sign language.