You asked and you shall now receive. It’s only fair for us to share all of this stored up knowledge about a toddlers and what happens when they start toddling (and talking)! We now will answer, in a very public forum, all of those burning questions about children in their second year. Each Wednesday, we will tackle a commonly-asked-question from the point of view of a parent with a toddler. Chiming in to give her feedback will be an expert who has been there and done that. Earmark, share and add your own input to today’s question; it’s good karma.
My toddler pulls my hair constantly! How do I get him to stop?
When your toddler pulls your hair gently put him down and say, “I can’t hold you right now it hurts my hair.” You can pick him back up in a few minutes and if it reoccurs repeat. Simplicity and repetition is the key in most of these situations and reminding yourself that removing a negative behavior takes some time just as learning a new behavior.
If the behavior persists after a couple of weeks then look at patterns: is your toddler tired, hungry, over or under stimulated, learning to talk or walk? All of these developmental cycles can create stress in toddlers and result in behaviors that may sooth him or her at the moment but not really get at the heart of the solving the problem.
About our expert-
Marsha Greenberg is a therapist in New York City. She is the author of the newly released book, Raising Your Toddler, by Globe Pequot Press. She has masters degrees in Child and Family Development and Social Work from the University of Michigan. As the Director of the Health Systems Child Care Program for over 14 years, she was responsible for over 250 children between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years of age. Marsha teaches in the Early Childhood Special Education department at NYU and has a private psychotherapy practice in NYC. Marsha is the mother of three grown sons and has three grandsons (aged 4 and 18 months and 4 months) with a new grandchild on the way.
