19 month old only hitting me as a game

My 19 month old will hit me thinking it’s a game. He laughs and says “ow” so he thinks it’s a game. I’ve tried ignoring and not reacting, I’ve tried getting upset and even sternly saying no and that hurts me but it doesn’t make a difference. Anyone else going through this? It’s literally just with me, not my husband, not at daycare. Just me and it’s so frustrating!

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Yeah they do that , my son did that too. I grab his hand before he does it and say “you may not hit mommy” in a stern voice. Only thing you can do is repetition. Say “hands are for playing , not hitting. Hands are for saying hello, not for hitting. Hands are not for hitting, hands are for gentle caressing, not hitting. Hitting hurts. “ and do motions with each line. You can also try saying be gentle, I don’t like that, it hurts. Best of luck! And remember it’s just a developmental phase, they’re just exploring their power and what they can or can’t do, sometimes they hit because they don’t know how else to express themselves and sometimes they laugh because they get nervous. Just keep calm and firm. Don’t get overly upset it’s not necessary.

thank you! The nervous laughter is spot on lol… just glad to hear it’s something he’ll outgrow over time!

thanks! He gets plenty of play time with positive reinforcement and the hitting isn’t even daily but when it happens it’s non stop for a never ending few minutes. Glad to hear it’s something he’ll eventually get bored of. Gotta work on my poker face lol

Toddler language differs from adult language, so don’t expect them to understand “this hurts” and stop. Hitting is a communication and expression of feelings and emotions. For practice, until they can understand, you might want to say something like, “In this house, no one hits anyone, but I see you are in the mood for hitting; why don’t you hit this pillow over here and turn it into a game with them. Children understand the language of playing best. Good luck!

Repetition Repetition Repetition. My 19 month old definitely testing boundaries in different ways right now and I have to address it every time. I tell her to stop in "mom" voice, then remove her from the situation if needed, then get eye level, (by this point the first couple times she's mad and wailing) if it's hitting, I gently hold her hands and tell her no hitting, and if she tries to break away I let her (I'm only gently holding her hands) and hold her hands again and repeat no hitting. She usually stops because she sees no matter how many times she does it, I never get loud, frustrated, angry, annoyed, smile, laugh I'm just stern and we can do this as long as she wants to. Then I count to 19 (I count by age ) and by this time she's completely calm. I hold her and soothe her and tell her I understand her frustration/ excitement etc but we do not hit. I tell her I love her, then she goes plays and we usually don't have any more issues for a good while....

Even though I know she can't understand everything I'm saying to her, it teaches me how to effectively practice my communication when it's go time when she gets older. It also teaches her pick up on body language, tone of voice, and boundaries.

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I think its fair

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He doesn't find it fair to look after both kids (my 4 year old isnt his) while i sleep so he looks after the baby while i sleep and my toddlers at his dads and ill look after both the next day.
Straightaway it was pretty unfair as i let him sleep in until he wakes up 10-12
He wakes me up when baby starts fussing because he wants milk (doesnt need it)
I cant pump as i dont supply enough.
So i get woken at 9/9:30 to feed baby then i get him sleep then theres no point sleeping in as my toddlers being dropped off.
I also find it unfair that i get both kids to sleep most night, i get my toddler to sleep everyday hes home (4/5days) and i get my baby to sleep most nights with the exception of maybe twice a month as his dad struggless then about 95% of his thru the day naps.
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After i had been up til 11:30 getting both kids to sleep lastnight and my partner falling asleep at 10 then him ignoring the baby cries all morning until my toddler woke up im fed up slammed to door and rold him not to expect to sleep in unless he gets the baby to sleep the night b4.
I keep having issues with him not feeling the wet from baby being sick or weeing himself or being able to smell it do about 98% of the time hes given to me i have to clean him up n change him.
Including at night, we agreed my partner would change nappies (1 a night at 5am) while i feed (2,4,5,6:30) but every night when i get him hes pissed through and my partner gets annoyed when i wake him up n moan about it.
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