what to do when your 17 months old baby is slapping you?

Answer 1

Well I would never suggest slapping them anywhere but on the butt or hands. Your baby probably doesn't realize that what hurts you hurts him. If you slap him either on the hands or butt, he'll realize that hitting hurts and he'll eventually stop doing it.

Answer 2

Don't take anyones advice when they say to hit or slap back. Just redirect or distract him. Take their hand and firmly say "No hitting." How are they going to learn that hitting is wrong when a parent hits them. Such bad advice.
Maria Montessori, one of the earliest opponents of slapping children's hands, believed that children's hands are tools for exploring, an extension of the child's natural curiosity. Slapping them sends a powerful negative message. Sensitive parents we have interviewed all agree that the hands should be off-limits for physical punishment. Research supports this idea. Psychologists studied a group of sixteen fourteen-month-olds playing with their mothers. When one group of toddlers tried to grab a forbidden object, they received a slap on the hand; the other group of toddlers did not receive physical punishment. In follow-up studies of these children seven months later, the punished babies were found to be less skilled at exploring their environment. Better to separate the child from the object or supervise his exploration and leave little hands unhurt.
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Answer 3

Don't slap your baby back...then s/he will think it's OK to hit. "If mommy hits me, I'm going to hit her (and other people!) too." My husband and I went round and round about this. Our 2 year old son would do something that deserved having his hand spanked, and my husband would do it. Then our son would say, "No daddy!" and hit him back. So my husband would say, "You DON'T HIT!" and spank his hand again. I sat him down one day and asked him, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound saying that to him? You're telling him it's not OK to hit, then you're hitting him!" Even though it was a light smack on the hand, still...

I don't watch Dr. Phil or read the Dr. Spock baby books or any of that. I just believe that if your child is doing something naughty, try to distract him or her from what they're doing. Don't praise the child, but just re-direct them to something else, I guess. If the child is having a temper tantrum, IGNORE him. He's seeking attention when he does that...good, bad or other. By spanking him, you'll just make him scream harder and slap you back.

That being said, I have absolutely NOTHING against spanking children...OLDER children, who understand why they're being spanked. But when babies are so young (from birth to roughly 3-4 years old) I don't believe it does any good.

Why is your 17month old baby slapping you? Where did s/he learn it? If the baby does it again, grab her/his hands and hold them firmly and say, "Don't hit mommy!" (or daddy, as the case may be) Just keep doing this over and over until she learns it's not OK to hit. Hold her hands firmly so she can't get them loose and slap you again.

Answer 4

Just hold his hand firmly in yours when he slaps you and with a frown sternly tell him "No hitting, that hurts." You'll probably have to do it for a while but eventually they understand. Encourage your toddler to use their words even if they only have a few. I would put the words in my toddlers' mouths if I knew what it was that they were upset about or if they wanted a snack or drink or something. For example: "Tell momma 'juice please'". Never hit or bite a baby back. They aren't mature enough to make the connection except to know that you just did the thing you're telling them not to do. Confusing for anyone let alone a toddler.

Answer 5

You need to make sure that he/she knows that you are the boss. If and when he/she slaps you, tell them that isn't nice or right and if they keep it up they will get into trouble. (I wouldn't tell them what kind of trouble) When he/she slaps you again, take their hand and slap it back and put them in time out. It will take a week or so, but it works if you stick to it. Just be strong. Don't let his/her fake tears drive you to stop.

Answer 6

Tell them to be gentle and if they continue to slap you let them know you don't like it. Put them in their crib or playpen for a few minutes.
DON'T spank them or slap them back! The only thing it will teach them is to hit. Your baby is just learning about cause and effect. Cause - slap Mommy/Daddy. Effect - get in trouble, make them cry, etc.

Answer 7

I wouldn't slap him or her back, at least not at this age. I would firmly tell him or her, "No!" and sit him or her in time-out for a couple of minutes. At this age, you should still be able to intimidate a child which is a good thing in this situation.

Answer 8

What I did when my son would slap me is I would take his hand and tell him "no slapping use easy touches." It didn't always work, but i felt it was better than slapping his hand for slapping me.

Answer 9

Your baby is learning from your actions at this age. If you just hit back, the child will learn that hitting is OK.

Just gently take that child's hand and say "NO...no hitting!" You may have to do this repetitively when you child hits, but sooner or later your child will catch on.

Answer 10

Let your baby know that what he/she is doing is inappropriate. Either say no, or whatever you typically do when you are telling him/her not to do something. Don't laugh or hit him/her back as he/she may take it as a game. Your baby will eventually grow out of it.