My little boy is 19 months old and a very sweet little man, but yesterday (he didn't take his second nap in the afternoon) he walked up to his baby sister (3 weeks old) while I was holding her and smacked her in the face, hard. He defiantly did it on purpose because he immediately looked at me and said "No!". I put him in time out and told him no hitting. Usually he is so good with her, giving kisses, patting her on the back when she has hiccups, rubbing her head, and tickling her feet. This came out of no where. Then today, again no second nap, I was nursing her and he was kissing her head then all the sudden face planted her again. I don't know why he is doing it but it is really upsetting me. He is only 1.5 so it's not like I can reason with him, but I know that he knows he is not supposed to be doing it. Occasionally he will hit me or kick his dad/my husband when he is tired too. Any advice?
@allymansfield:
Keep doing what you are doing. Separate him immediately and tell him it is wrong. Give him a time out or take away while telling him it is wrong. Then supervise him heavily when he is around her. Let him love on her but you have to be on the defense and watch his hand and any clues that he is about to strike her. You just have to watch him closely and reinforce that it is wrong. It is a phase. It will pass. Also, make sure to give him lots of attention and love right now as he is probably doing a lot of this out of jealousy. He is no longer the baby and he doesn't understand why. Just keep letting him know he is loved, pay him lots of attention and try to do things with him alone sometimes. It will get better and they will become best friends. Promise. Congratulations!
Oh and if he is saying "no" after he does it, you would be surprised how much you can reason with him. 4951