Hi Everyone,

  I'm new to this site and these boards.  I have a 17 month old who will become a bit aggressive when I take him away from something.  He'll hit the furniture or knock a toy off the table or something to that effect.  He doesn't hit me and it hasn't gotten really bad.  However, I want to try to nip this in the bud while it is still not out of hand.  I don't want it to get worse as he gets older.  I am firm with him and have tried taking his hands and talking to him about "we don't hit things or people" or " we don't throw toys" and he'll just laugh.  I have given him a minute or two timeouts but that doesn't seem to be working either.  Any suggestions out there would be great....thanks moms and caregivers!!

Just keep it up with letting him know that it's inappropriate. My son is only 12 months and I let him know firmly but nicely that spitting at people is not nice. He understands the word "no" and will stop whatever action he is doing when I say no. You just have to keep at it and he will eventually understand. I think time outs at that age won't help. He understands that you're punishing him but he most likely doesn't understand why. Also, reward him for being nice with his toys or for being good after taking something. Research shows that rewarding good behavior is better than punishing bad behavior. I hope everything works out!