2 yr old son hitting and detroying things

Ok my 2yr old son loves to just go up to things and knock them over for no reason. He also hits a lot and pushes. Is this a normal thing? If yours did this what did you do to stop the behavior or did you have to wait until the phase ended? How long did it take? Any stories would be nice to so I know I'm not alone. My son is now 28mths today and he hits, throws things, knocks things over, and is just a one man wrecking crew all by himself. He does this almost all the time when others are around and when he gets very excited but he does sometimes do this when it's just him. I am doing time outs right now and he goes into the corner and stays there when told or sits on his bed (we just put him in a twin bed too but is doing good with that, stays in bed). I just don't know what else to do or try. My dh keeps saying he's a normal 2 yr old boy and he will grow out of it but it's very frustrating when he is doing this to my 5 yr old niece and 8 yr old nephew. I get looks from my family because he is "out of control" or a "trouble maker". I really HATE that they call him this. He is a very loving little boy that loves to give hugs and kisses when you ask him to. He just sometimes might hit instead. He also bites every now and then but that is mostly my dh or my nephew when my nephew wrestles with him (I try not to let him do that but nephew doesn't listen and his parents do nothing). My niece and nephews parents don't displine like we do and let their kids get away with a lot more but if ours does anything to their kids we get comments and looks. My sil actually told her 4yr old daughter (at the time she was 4 and my son was around 1) to hit my son back because my son was in a hitting phase. Who tells a 4yr old to hit a one yr old. My niece is a spoiled little girls who can be sweet one minute and when she's not getting the attention she whines, cryies, and complains about everything. So she will sometimes start in on my son who doesn't say to much and can't really defend himself. No I know non of my kids are perfect and we do disaplin them but he's 2.

Well I guess this is a little vent too.So please tell me I am not the only one going through this. My girls were not this bad. One did have a very bad biting problem and they both hit but it was mostly each other while fighting over toys.
Thanks for letting me get this out. I was just at my parents house this Sunday (where my brother, his wife and kids are living right now) and had to go through this and I feel bad for my kids.

 

My DDs (fortunately) do not do this often, but it sound fairly normal. One of my DDs does hit & pinch sometimes. It's not usually totally out of the blue, but sometimes her "reasons" are pretty lame -- that someone had a toy she wanted, etc. And she's 3!

I can't believe your SIL told her 4yo to hit your DS. And she wonders why he hits... Not that that's the only reason, but geez -- talk about being a hypocrite. And also, how do they expect your DS to respond if his older cousin(s) are wrestling with him -- a 2yo is not going to very politely say "Please stop that, I'm tired of wrestling now."

Anyway, no great suggestions -- it sounds like you're doing your best to respond to it -- but hugs.

 

I think he sounds like a pretty typical 2 year old little boy. Boys are wired differently then girls and some are more active, as I call them, then other boys. Mine are exactly like yours. They are starting to get out of the hitting, pushing, etc. stage now. But, they would just smack someone for no reason a couple of months ago. My one DS hit my grandmother in the face when she got really close to say hello. Mine have a ton of personality and I am grateful for that. So, I guess I would rather have my 2 year old sons active and a little "naughty" here and there then sitting like a bump on a log in the corner. Your son would totally get along with my boys.

 

My DS can be like that sometimes too. I swear it's the early testosterone coursing through their little bodies! He will be fine, get frustrated and just toss stuff. Just tonight, he took a plastic bowl full of blocks and just threw the entire bowl across the floor. Maybe he thinks it's fun, maybe he was frustrated or tired, I don't know. I just get down on his level and tell him "we don't do xyz". If it's a safety issue or hitting/biting, it's an immediate time out. If it's just throwing things like tonight, I'll tell him "you can either pick up those blocks and put them in your bucket or you can sit in time out. You decide". He almost always picks them up. It's very repetitive and I hope something is sinking in. It's frustrating because it takes so much consistency before they finally get it..usually when you're about ready to give up.

 

I did not read pps so I hope I am not repeating. I always give my little ones an outlet when they are doing something like this. When they throw a toy I explain that toys are not for throwing and if they want to throw something to go and get a ball. And it works...they stop what they are doing and run over and get a ball and before you know it they have moved on totally. DH works late now and they do not see him much. Because of this, Jack does whatever he can to get DH's attention when he is home. He has recently started to bite DH. He has never done this to anyone else, only DH. Dh was trying to redirect him but Jack would just laugh and do it again. I started giving him a washcloth or blanket to bite instead and now when he does it I tell him to go find a washcloth or pillow to bite and off he goes.

I say get him a little kids punching bag or a pillow or something that he is aloud to punch and hit and get all of his energy out on.

Just my opinion, I hope you find something that works!

 

Sounds to me like typical 2 yr old behavior. Although sometimes my 4 year olds do that...

 

Thanks everyone for your replys it's nice to know I'm not alone.
QUOTE(ahmerl @ Dec 16 2008, 02:08 PM) [snapback]1112399[/snapback]
I did not read pps so I hope I am not repeating. I always give my little ones an outlet when they are doing something like this. When they throw a toy I explain that toys are not for throwing and if they want to throw something to go and get a ball. And it works...they stop what they are doing and run over and get a ball and before you know it they have moved on totally. DH works late now and they do not see him much. Because of this, Jack does whatever he can to get DH's attention when he is home. He has recently started to bite DH. He has never done this to anyone else, only DH. Dh was trying to redirect him but Jack would just laugh and do it again. I started giving him a washcloth or blanket to bite instead and now when he does it I tell him to go find a washcloth or pillow to bite and off he goes.

I say get him a little kids punching bag or a pillow or something that he is aloud to punch and hit and get all of his energy out on.

Just my opinion, I hope you find something that works!

My dh gives him a chew toy that is kept in the refrigerater when he bites or is about to. He now knows where we keep it and puts it back when done.
I am just wondering if I let him use a punching bag or something if he will keep hitting and not just that. But I guess that is just repetative too with letting him know to hit the punching bag or pillow instead of something else.