Why is my toddler hitting me: The Milestone I'm Misreading | Baby Mind Lab - Toddlers Psychology

Why does your toddler hit you when they are angry, overwhelmed, blocked, or unable to explain what they feel? This episode explains the milestone many parents misread: hitting is not proof your toddler is “bad.” It can be a body sentence from a brain still building language, independence, emotional regulation, and self-control. You’ll learn why toddler hitting may happen before words arrive, why the safest caregiver often receives the hit, and how to respond without ignoring the behavior or shaming the child. 📘 View full lesson (NotebookLM is a product of Google, click link and log in with your personal gmail to learn more interesting thing about this episode): https://notebooklm.google.com/noteboo... ▶️ WATCH NEXT: 🔹 Playlist Psychology of Toddlers:    • Psychology of Toddlers   🔹 Terrible Twos: I Spent 2 Years Thinking My Toddler Was Misbehaving - Her Brain Couldn't Help It:    • TERRIBLE TWOS: I Spent 2 YEARS Thinking My...   🔹 Why Your Baby BITES You The Same 3s, Three Different Realities | Baby Mind Lab Psychology of Baby:    • Why Your Baby BITES You The Same 3s, Three...   ⏱️ TIMESTAMP: 00:00 The moment your toddler hits you 00:44 Why hitting is not always “bad behavior” 01:46 The toddler brain’s unfinished self-control system 03:21 When the body speaks before language 04:08 Why “no” can trigger a physical reaction 04:56 The link between aggression, language, and toddler development 06:21 What to do when your toddler hits About Baby Mind Lab: Baby Mind Lab decodes the psychology and developing brains of children aged 0–36 months through science-backed insights, helping parents understand their babies with deeper empathy. Subscribe to Baby Mind Lab for more research-informed videos about baby behavior, emotional development, attachment, and the psychology of early childhood. #ToddlerPsychology #ToddlerHitting #BabyMindLab #ChildDevelopment #GentleParenting #ToddlerBehavior 🔬 RESEARCH REFERENCES: ① Dr. Paul Jenkins / Live On Purpose, Cyndi Baker, 2019, What Do You Do With A Child With Anger Management Issues, https://drpauljenkins.com/what-do-you... ② Live On Purpose TV / YouTube, Dr. Paul Jenkins, no clear year provided, How To Get Toddler To Stop Hitting,    • How To Get Toddler To Stop Hitting   ③ PLOS ONE, Lisa-Christine Girard, Jean-Baptiste Pingault, Bruno Falissard, Michel Boivin, Ginette Dionne, Richard E. Tremblay, 2014, Physical Aggression and Language Ability from 17 to 72 Months: Cross-Lagged Effects in a Population Sample, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art... ④ Child Development, Lenneke R. A. Alink, Judi Mesman, Jantien van Zeijl, Mirjam N. Stolk, Femmie Juffer, Hans M. Koot, Marian J. Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, 2006, The Early Childhood Aggression Curve: Development of Physical Aggression in 10- to 50-Month-Old Children, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16942... ⑤ Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2011, Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System: How Early Experiences Shape the Development of Executive Function, https://developingchild.harvard.edu/w... ⑥ ZERO TO THREE, no individual author provided, 2025, Aggressive Behavior in Toddlers, https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/... ⑦ ZERO TO THREE, no individual author provided, 2009, Coping with Aggression and Teaching Self-Control in the Early Years, https://www.zerotothree.org/wp-conten... ⑧ American Academy of Pediatrics / Pediatrics, Robert D. Sege et al., 2018, Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children, https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/... ⑨ NHS, no individual author provided, 2020, Temper tantrums, https://www.nhs.uk/baby/babys-develop...