At my two-year-old daughter's nursery, there's one "energetic" boy who is perhaps a little lacking in the empathy or discipline department. What I'm saying is, he occasionally behaves too roughly towards the other children, going as far as hitting them. Now I'm sure it's nothing too extreme - there's adult supervision after all, and I know he's reprimanded when caught - but what I'd like to ask is: what behaviour should I teach my daughter when he's hitting her? I see two alternatives:
Fight fire with fire. Encourage her to hit him back. Obviously, there are problems with this approach. I'd very much like to convey to her that hitting is not-okay behaviour. However, I definitely do not want her to fall into a victim role, and being proactively defiant may help with that. Also, the boy might benefit, when he realizes that there are boundaries that can not be crossed without repercussions.
Have her respond verbally: yell at him not to hit her. This is more in line with avoiding not-okay behaviour (hitting), but I'm not sure this will have the desired effect of him not hitting her.
Encourage her to ask the adults for help. This is my least preferred course of action, because it is the least self-reliant, and I'd rather she feels self-empowered to deal with these situations.
Are there other ways I could pursue?