LAer, you are correct – I left out a vital word. Hitting a toddler teaches them that its ACCEPTABLE. Yes my son has hit the baby. Its absolutely a natural response when you don’t have verbal skills. We train ourselves to CONTROL certain responses and I am working to give my son the verbal skills and control through reasoning. He is much better. He does go to daycare and learns negative influences from other children. Right now, we are working on seeing others misbehave and not copying their behavior (specifically at the park and sliding head first down the slide).
Let me give a quick example of how toddlers learn. My son knows we don’t throw toys. This morning, I saw a toy and tossed it into the appropriate basket. I was far enough away from it, that it was a “throw.” One of the next things my son did was take a toy and toss it also. That is how toddlers learn – they imitate. He wasn’t being bad by any stretch of imagination, he was learning from me. Its why as a parent you need to be extra careful in what you say and do. Kids model behavior much faster than they listen to what you say.
A child needs a balance of positive and negative reinforcement, and a happy home life.
PY, I agree with that. But to me, that doesn’t include spanking.
That’s ok Wolf, I don’t expect an answer.