Hitting!!!

I am going crazy... my LO (17M) is hitting! She hits me, her big sister, dad, the dogs... It's not a behavior she has seen modeled anywhere (no daycare, sister doesn't hit, dad and I don't fight, no TV, etc).
It mainly happens in response to being told 'no' for something she's doing (that she shouldn't be). She will literally run across the room to hit the first thing with a heartbeat that she can reach! I AM SO FRUSTRATED!!
Her dad and I have been grabbing her 'hitting hand' and holding it while firmly telling her 'No hitting'... after which she generally throws herself on the floor in a tantrum.
I just don't know what to do, since what we are doing isn't working! She also seems very young to be exhibiting this behavior already (it's been happening for about 2 months).
Prime example: tonight during dinner, I told her 'No No, we don't throw food on the floor' and reached out for her to put it in my hand. She slapped my forearm HARD (which splattered said food all over). I gave her 'the look' instead of grabbing her hand, and then she immediately said "Pat Pat" and patted my arm where she just hit me. (Which I how I taught her to 'Pat the puppies nicely')
Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice, or other things to try?! I don't want this becoming more of a habit than it already is...

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I'm here looking because my son is exhibiting the exact same! Today I got more stern about it because he's hitting everyone because he can't have something!

Following for advice too. My son has been going on about a month of the exact same behavior. I try redirecting him but it doesn’t seem to help sometimes it makes it worse

My son is doing the same. I keep calmly telling him not to hit and why, hoping it sticks. I know he’s still trying to comprehend things and doesn’t understand yet that expressing anger through hitting is not tolerable.

You could try giving them something to hit when they are mad and need a healthy way to express those big feelings. Definitely don’t want to teach them that the feeling itself is bad or wrong because it’s not. The behavior they are using to express the anger however is not appropriate. That’s the best thing I have learned so far and it seems to help. This is typically around the age where it’s important to start teaching kids how to handle their big feelings and what feelings are. I would highly recommend looking into a calm down corner with information on feelings and how to express them appropriately. Hope this helps you guys! 💕

https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/activity/calm-down-corner/

Same my boy does and exactly 17m old. Sometimes he hit so hard I see starts especially with the remote control I tried to tell him it’s not nice to hit mama trying to explain to him but his dad just think it’s fun and he let him hit so it’s gonna be really hard to stop this habit🥺I just hope it’s temporary and will stop eventually otherwise it’s gonna be a big problem later on. Before he only hit me and his dad but few days ago he hit his grandma too he is getting braver

I’ve found that my LG (16.5 months) hitting means she’s missing something most of the time attention/physical affection. I’ll turn her hits into high fives and once she’s in a better mood I make sure to give her lots of tickles and kisses/hugs. Normally works for us. It’s her little reminder to me I’m not prioritizing her in the way she needs.

My daughter has started recently i usually just say “no ma’am that hurts mommy we don’t hit can you be gentle” she usually then rubs where she hit or gives a hug. We work on stomping and saying mad when she’s upset about things that way she’s showing she’s mad without hitting or bitting

Thanks ladies!! I'm going to work my way through your suggestions, and hopefully, something clicks! 🙂

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