Parental guidance: Toddlers and hitting

She won't "get it" anyway, because she is too young to process things the way adults do, he says. "You can't explain something to someone who is 2 years old," Holtz says.

A more effective approach might be this: As soon as she hits you, immediately take her two hands and simply say, "No hitting." Stay calm; don't yell or raise your voice. Then, change the environment -- take her into a different room to do a different activity.

"It gets the child's attention; it breaks the chain of behavior," Holtz says. Tell her, "Let's go eat something" and go to the kitchen, for instance.

If you want to show your child how to stroke your face gently, do that later, at least an hour or so after you've corrected her behavior.

"The best thing is to demonstrate good behavior," Holtz says. "They learn what they see, not what you tell them."