Why does your toddler hit, bite, or throw things—even when you are trying to parent calmly and consistently? Toddler hitting and biting may look like a discipline problem, but for many young children, it begins as a communication gap.
Your toddler is not necessarily choosing to be “bad.” He may be using his body because the language, regulation, and impulse-control skills that should replace the hitting have not developed yet.
In this episode of Talking Toddlers, Erin Hyer, licensed speech-language pathologist with nearly four decades of clinical and real-life experience, explains why consequences alone cannot teach a skill that has not yet been built.
You’ll learn:
- why hitting can function as communication
- what may be happening before the moment of impact
- why repeated correction often fails
- how presence and prevention help build the missing skill
- what parents can begin doing instead of simply saying, “Don’t hit”
The goal is not to excuse the behavior. The goal is to understand it well enough to teach your toddler a safer, more effective way to communicate.
Because you cannot correct your way to a skill that has not been installed.
Helpful links:
▶ Watch Talking Toddlers on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@HyerLearning
📘 Download Erin’s free guide:
https://hyerlearning.myflodesk.com/skillsfortalking
💬 Learn about parent coaching or schedule a Clarity Call:
CLICK HERE TO CONNECT
🌿 Visit Hyer Learning:
www.HyerLearning.com
Educational and coaching information only. This episode is not a substitute for an individual speech-language, developmental, behavioral, or medical evaluation.
