Hitting

Our boys will be three in August and they get in fights every thirty mins. Some of these fights are rough and include hitting each other with toy trucks.
Is this a phase?

 

Everything is a phase. Life is a phase.

What we did was immediate Time Out for hitting. It worked, it got the hitter away from the situation, and the hittee could get some one on one time while the hitter was in Time Out.

ETA: the first line is meant to be said totally stoner-ish, not snarky. Maybe I should add a "dude" and a "man" to it.

 

It is a phase. A long, persistent, crappy phase. We do automatic time outs for hitting or pushing. We also freak out with praise and joy when they are playing well together or if we see sharing or cooperation going on.

 

Thanks, everyone. How long does it last?
I've been doing time outs, but it seems five mins later they're back at it. We don't have any duplicate toys, which is part of the problem, I guess.
The sad thing is sometimes they hit hard enough with those metal trucks to leave bruises! Does this mean they'll will be breking one another's noses at some point in their middle school years? hahah

And it's not like they see violence at home or on the screen. They just kind of want to destroy each other. hahah. And then five mins later they ADORE one another. All normal, I guess.