Dear Miss Faith, I care for a little boy of 24 months. His parents are having big relationship problems, and this sweet little boy has suddenly become very aggressive, hitting me and the other kids I care for many times each day. I have tried telling him "Gentle hands!" and I help him touch gently, but it is not working at all. I'm losing my patience and the other children … [Read more...]
Correcting Hitting Behavior
July 25, 2016 · by · Leave a Comment
Dear Miss Faith, My son is three and he still struggles with hitting and rough touching. Mostly not being aggressive, it's like he doesn't realize that he's hurting people. When we correct him, he often sticks his tongue out and makes a spitting sound, or runs and hides. Sometimes he will stop but other times he just can't seem to stop. Should I end the visit or leave the … [Read more...]
Being Too Rough with Baby
January 12, 2015 · by · 9 Comments
Dear Miss Faith, What can I do when my toddler is rough with the baby (usually unintentionally, but sometimes by-accident-on-purpose)? My impulse is to yell and I know that’s not good and honestly doesn’t really help! It seems like you often suggest being light-hearted or making things into a game, but that doesn't feel right in this case. I want her to know that it’s … [Read more...]
19 Month Old Hits Dad!
October 27, 2014 · by · 1 Comment
Dear Miss Faith Recently our daughter has been hitting dad, blowing raspberries at him, and generally being disrespectful. It seems totally random; she's often no upset and sometimes even laughs when she does it. He reprimands her but it doesn't seem to make a difference, and it's really starting to upset my husband. What do you think could be going on? Dear Mama, When … [Read more...]
Overstimulation and Aggressive Behavior
July 23, 2013 · by · Leave a Comment
Dear Miss Faith, My 2.5yo son has a lot of trouble in noisy situations where there are large groups of children. He is normally a kind, friendly child, but when in noisy or crowded spaces he loses all impulse control, running away from me, crashing purposefully into other children, knocking other children down, and grabbing toys. The grabbing he does in these particular … [Read more...]
Scratching and Pinching Older Sister
September 16, 2012 · by · 2 Comments
Dear Miss Faith, Lately my 2-yr-old daughter has really escalated her scratching and pinching of her big sister (age 5). My 5-yr-old recently broke her leg, so I have to carry her quite a bit and that is likely making the younger one jealous. Also, she is definitely struggling to use her words. But to my horror my older daughter's face looks like a cat attacked her! It’s … [Read more...]
Pre-Verbal Hitting
August 6, 2011 · by · 5 Comments
Hey Miss Faith, I was wondering if you could write more on hitting. Our pre-verbal 15-month-old is going through a rough phase this past month. He hits me and my husband in the face, throws things at us and the dog, pulls the cats by their tails and bops the goats on the nose. He's just being too rough with everyone. We've tried reminding him and showing him how to use "gentle … [Read more...]
