I don't know if other people with multiple blogs do this, but I tend to compartmentalize mine a little bit, with certain topics "belonging" on one and not on another, and after awhile I realize there are all these stray storylines that I left hanging.
Like hey, remember when my kid wouldn't stop beaning me in the head?
I posted about that here instead of over at the big pink site because....well...just between you and me (leans in close, takes your hand gently) sometimes the feedback on that site can be a little much, if you get my drift. Over here, a post about a toddler who hits gets a manageable number of comments and suggestions and advice. The same post over there would probably disintegrate into craziness, with someone calling my kid a neurologically-challenged, sociopath-in-training who is now and always will be incapable of empathy, and all of this is my fault because I WRITE ABOUT HIS POO-POO BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET.
Anyway. Thank you for not saying anything like that, and for giving me a lot of good ideas for how to deal with the hitting. I feel like I owe you an update on what worked and what didn't, but mostly I just want to say that Noah doesn't hit or throw things anymore.
THINGS THAT WORKED:
The Mantle of Exiled Toys: Anything Noah threw at me (or the dog, or anybody) was immediately placed on the fireplace mantle for the rest of the day. He could still see them, and if he pointed at them I gently repeated that we do not throw toys at people, that toys we throw go bye-bye for awhile, etc. The next morning I would take the toys down and give them back, reminding him of the rules again, blah blah blah.
Hands Are Not For Hitting: This book is great. Great! Great pictures, great repetition and great actions for your toddler to mimic (waving, hugging, itsy-bitsy spider, etc.). There's also a parents' guide with other ideas for dealing with anger and aggression. It's one of Noah's favorites, which dude. Score, especially since I don't ever have to say SWIPER NO SWIPING while reading it.
The Mad Dance: This is something from the parents' guide of HANFH. Whenever Noah gets frustrated and seems to be working towards a tantrum, I do an exaggerated Mad Dance to distract him. I stomp my feet and jump around and basically act like a darn fool. But it distracts him from his own anger and usually makes him laugh. Plus it's a good way to let children know that it's OKAY to get angry (which I imagine is a message they miss if you end up punishing or yelling every time they throw a tantrum). We just need to express our anger in the right way, blah blah blah self esteem children are delicate flowers blah.
THINGS THAT DID NOT WORK:
Time-outs: I think Noah is just too little. He didn't seem to ever understand the cause-and-effect aspect to time-outs, and after two minutes he was usually ANGRIER and would just repeat the behavior that put him there in the first place. Eventually he would calm down and want to hug and make up, but this always came after more time in time-out than I felt was appropriate for his age, and basically the whole exercise stressed both of us out and didn't seem to be worth the hassle. When he's older and has a better vocabulary I think we'll be able to use time-outs, but for now, not we'll stick with removing the offending item. (Or removing him. We've left Gymboree early twice so far).
Anyway, sorry if this way boring and not what you came here for, but I just felt the need to do a little fist-pumping because GO ME I AM THE BEST MOTHER EVER IT'S ALMOST LIKE I KNOW WHAT I AM DOING SOMETIMES.
