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I have a 1.5-year-old son. I have noticed below violent behavior patterns:

  • hurting people by hitting, biting, pinching and plucking hair etc.
  • yelling and crying a lot when disappointed or angry.

I am very concerned about his social interactions. What can I do to control this behavior and nourish good social interaction behaviour?

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  • Take child to see his family doctor ? Is their any mental illnesses that run in family ? I'm not saying that's what it is . it could also be physical. Find out what his Dr says and listen to him or her .
    – Tracey
    Commented May 18, 2015 at 0:57

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The child's doctor can indeed be a good resource.

You might want to focus particularly on your child's developing ability to communicate. The aggression might be an expression of frustration.

If there is any delay in the ability to make himself understood, or frustration with self-expression, it could be helpful to help him communicate through some simple nonverbal signs, which you can invent yourself if you are able. You could also get some ideas from sign language.

Perhaps your baby is reaching the stubbornness of the "terrible twos" a little early. For this, what helps is to pick your battles, and try to lower the baby's frustration level, so that he has less to get angry or upset about.

If your baby is exposed to television, it might be helpful to limit or eliminate that.

Ask the doctor to look carefully at baby's skin. Skin discomfort, such as itching, can give a child a short fuse (i.e. make him irascible).

When baby bites, you can gently put the child's arm in the child's mouth and help him close his mouth on his own arm. You don't want him to really chomp down. You want it to hurt just enough that he realizes that his biting causes pain!

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  • +1 for communication. My younger one acted out until he was felt he was understood by us.
    – Valkyrie
    Commented May 18, 2015 at 10:29
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    +1 for 'early terrible twos'. Oldest did not enter until 2.5 years of age, youngest at 18 months. Also, kids do go through a kicking/biting stage - some more than others. Explain peacefully again, and again, and again that gentle touches are needed.
    – Ida
    Commented May 18, 2015 at 19:40
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    +1 for communication. Toddlers understand language pretty well but don't have the motor skills for speech. It's like a one-way street. This is when baby sign language comes in handy as they have the motor skills with their hands to communicate. Research is inconclusive, but it seems that sign language helps alleviate some of the terribleness that comes with twos.
    – Lux Claridge
    Commented May 16, 2019 at 16:19

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