15 month old hitting

Our 15 month old son has started hitting myself and husband when he cant have his own way. To discipline we have been telling him "no hitting" in a stern voice whilst holding his arm down by his side and removing him from the situation by sitting him down and facing away from him. He usually stays put and we go back and reiterate hitting is naughty and ask for a cuddle then continue playing. Sometimes he wont give a cuddle and he seems to try and turn the whole thing around by crying really loudly and becomes very upset. He knows hitting is wrong as sometimes he hesitates or gives a cuddle as soon as hes done it.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

You're on the right track but should make an adjustment in your management of the behavior. Any aggressive behavior should be met with an immediate time out, lasting about five minutes (use a timer to track the time). There should be no conversation during the time out. You would do well to refrain from the cuddling - this confuses the message. It should be clear that limit setting and discipline do not involve cuddling. Your son can experience some secondary gain if you accompany discipline with cuddling. Time out should involve sitting quietly in a chair. The timer should not be started until your son is quiet.