Anyone else have a face smacker?

Lauren - posted on 01/13/2010

Hi! My son is 14 months and hits too. he smacks me on the boobs and i'm not sure why..he's not mad or anything, he's usually happy when he's doing it.i tell him no and he laughs and does it harder.but his father says yeah hit mommy good job and starts laughing...im just gonna tell the pediatrician and see what she says..good luck.

Meredith - posted on 01/13/2010

My son does the same thing. I have tried everything and nothing seems to work. Although when I pretend to cry he gets upset. That is the only thing that has had a reaction out of him. I hope this is just a stage they are going through.

Jaclyn - posted on 01/12/2010

Seems to me that spanking breeds a cycle of violence. It also feels like it's focusing on fear-based parenting instead of teaching your child the affects on other people. "That hurts momma when you do that" "oh, you hurt your friend's feelings when you did that, we touch nicely with soft hands" and showing them the impact of their actions on others. When spanking occurs, the child learns the impact to only himself. "This action causes ME this impact" rather than "This action causes momma to hurt and set me down".

Carrie - posted on 01/12/2010

Spanking shows that a violent response is a valid response in some situations. Kids can't tell the difference between spanking out of love and hitting out of anger. You confuse them when you do it.

Carrie - posted on 01/12/2010

My daughter likes to do it playfully and we play along by turning our heads playfully. But sometimes she does it a little bit harder and it hurts a little so I tell her ouch not so hard. If she didn't stop, I would turn away from her and not give her attention for a minute so she sees that when it is too hard then we don't want to play anymore. I don't know what I'd do if she did it to another kid. When she does it to the dog I tell her no hitting, nice touch, pet the doggie and take her hand and show her nice petting.

Cristina - posted on 01/12/2010

I agree with Jaclyn, spanking doesn't solve the problem, it only shows them that if you do it than they can do it to. My son used to smack us, but we would give him a firm NO and hold his hand down and eventually he stoped doing it. Now hi's all kisses.

Good luck and be patient.

Breann - posted on 01/12/2010

I spank my children. It is biblical. I don't agree with spanking out of anger. I send them to their room to think about what they have done. After I take a few minutes to calm down and think about it myself I go to them. We talk about what they did and why it was wrong. I point them to scripture about what they did and obeying your parents. The bible tells me to punish you and if I don't do what I am told by God then I will be punished by him. Never out of anger! If you cannot calm down then a spanking just won't happen. Most of the time we have had several talks about it before the spanking comes into play. It works if you use it the right way.

Jaclyn - posted on 01/12/2010

I have to ask the spankers - how does hitting them back teach them its not ok to hit? Seriously, curious.

Jenoir - posted on 01/11/2010

yes indeed! my almost 15 mo old son does the same thing! and he thinks it is really funny to smack us. he even likes to bite us when he gets upset. i give him a firm "no" and then he usually falls out in the floor, having a temper tantrum. i think it is normal for toddlers to test their limits with us. i have two older kids and they did the same thing. my oldest kids are now almost 5 and 10 and they don't have any violence/hitting issues now. i wouldn't worry about it too much. just continue to let him know its not ok and he'll grow out of it in time... good luck :-)

Melissa - posted on 01/11/2010

I can't believe people still spank their kids. It's like teaching them that when you get angry you hit people. I think it confuses them - why can mommy hit me, but I can't hit mommy? My 14 month old hit my face for a couple days, but I would just pull his hand away and say no!, and then nicely say "be gentle" and SHOW him how to touch softly. I started this a while ago whenever he would touch something fragile, or for petting a dog or animal. It took about 100 times of saying it, but he finally understands what it means, and whenever I say "be gentle" he just gives few cute little gentle pats and then walks away!

Paula - posted on 01/11/2010

My boy does that too so I just hold his arm to stop him, say a very firm NO and then put his hand to my face softly and tell him 'gentle'. When I say 'gentle' he puts his hand to his face but still hasnt stopped having a whack at the face...guess I will just persist and hope he gets it one day. Not much else I can do!

Cimone Louise - posted on 01/11/2010

o yes I have a little face smacker too!! she is a little 14 month old girl very cute and very cheecky and so she gets away with heaps!! im sure it started out from the reach to touch my face then her little hand just when splat, and she loved the sound and the suprised look on my face just like in Peek-a- boo. I just hold her hand if she goes to snack and say no. then if she continues I will put her down. she doesnt smack any more or rather I don't give her the opportuntiy!! best of luck. Cimone

Violet - posted on 01/10/2010

i have the same problem my daughter is 14 months

Lisa - posted on 01/10/2010

My son does it too. He does it more to me than others and thinks it's funny. He also bites at times but I'm pretty sure it is when he is teething. He goes to day care and he has a 3 year old sister who lays into him at times. I say 'gentle hands' while pullng his hand away firmly and I put him down. Initially he thought it was funny but he is getting the idea and sometimes will now stroke my head (although rarely!!!).
Sounds like a phase but my daughter never did it.

Kerrie - posted on 01/09/2010

I have a 14 month old who is also going through a hitting 'phase'. Hers isn't a learnt behaviour as she does not attend day care.
I put her down and say firmly no hitting. She cries, but gets over it easy.
I also comment when she's being gentle. I say "ah nice touching", this normally gets a kiss too.
She is just learning about everything, including good and inappropriate behaviour.
My biggest thing with her is consistency.

Frances - posted on 01/09/2010

Mine did the same thing about two weeks ago and it kept on for about a week, tired, or not, hungry or not, naughty, naughty, naughty... yes... untill I did the following... as soon as he smacked me, I took his naughty hand and smacked him with it! He tried hitting harder and "he smacked himself" harder... It worked :-) All the best!

Dawnitria - posted on 01/09/2010

unfortunately my daughter doesn't hit others for some reason she hit's her self in the face and i have been trying the longest to get her to stop but nothing help's......

Tyisha - posted on 01/09/2010

My son who is 14 months old he will do the same thing mostly when he is tired or do not want you to kiss him, I just grab his hand spank his hand and frimly tell him no hitting, yes he will cry but I feel lke I'm teaching him the consequences of doing the wrong thing.

Ebere - posted on 01/09/2010

my baby does dat 2.. i spank her very gently, so she knows its not allright 2 do dat..
goodluck honey..

Trish - posted on 01/08/2010

I have the same problem. My daughter does it but when she does it, i always give a firm "No" and put her down if i'm holding her (which makes her cry) and then i tell her to be gentle.

Desirie - posted on 01/08/2010

Oh yes I do have a smacker and bitter and wondered where he got it from,my gosh and they hit you so hard,as long as he's awake I cant wink for to long or its what ever he picks up he throws it at me.lol

Karen - posted on 01/08/2010

You're not alone! My little guy sometimes goes into a rampage if he's over tired, throwing toys, grabbing things, and smacking anything that's nearby. At that point I just scoop him up, hold on tight, and head for his crib to put him down for a nap. If I catch him before he gets too tired and put him down for a nap he does just fine. It's just when he goes "over the edge" like that. I agree with the other Mom's, it's just a phase and if you don't give a huge reaction it'll get better with time.

Christine - posted on 01/08/2010

My daughter has been doing this for a while. It definitely is a response to her frustration. The doc said to just ignore the behavior. It isn't learned though since we don't hit and she doesn't go to daycare and we don't have other children. She has also tried to bite and scratch. Nice! :) It has gotten better with time, so I absolutely believe it is a phase. I usually just redirect her by saying no and then taking her hands and touching my face softly and laughing and then she laughs. Good luck!

Kate - posted on 01/07/2010

my 14 month old son hits alot too i think he learned it from a little 3 year old boy fromhis daycare who his mother allows him him to hit punch and kick her all the time my son got reall upset when he came near him so i started watching threw the window at the daycare to see why and i noticed that the little boy was putting his hands on my son and laughing....... i think that is were my son learned his hitting and pinching from but i dont know how to stopping from doing it

Rena - posted on 01/06/2010

My daughter is almost 15 months old and shes been smacking alot lately. She does it playing around sometimes but when she gets mad or upset she will smack me. I cant let the behavior go on because she has a very sick cousin. So I have noticed that if I sit her down she will stop for a short time.Of course she usually get into something else that will also get her into trouble,but it beats spanking her. I also get a newsletter from Huggies and they had an article on thier website about hitting at their age. It is common. Just keep at it maybe one day they will finally get it. Good luck!

Anna - posted on 01/06/2010

What you are doing is great! Just be consistent and eventually he'll get the hang of it. At this age they are discovering new things (cause and reaction). He probably grabbed a face and got a response. Now just change the response and he'll figure out that he doesn't want to do it anymore. :o)

Tara - posted on 01/06/2010

Hey Becky, my 15 month son does the same thing. He used to only do it once in awhile but once he was around his cousin for a couple of days (who hits a lot and is only 4 months older) he has started to do it all of the time. He will laugh sometimes or he does it when he is frustrate/angry. I let him know that it's not okay to hit, that it hurts and I will hold his hand if he keeps doing it and if I am holding him I put him down, which makes him cry. I don't believe in spanking etc either but I will not tolerate hitting. I am hoping it's a phase but want to make sure he doesn't think it's okay to do so. Is your son in daycare or a dayhome? That could also be why he is hitting.