Toddlers who hit :(

[Tasha]

1-2-3 Magic does use time-outs and I do use time out with my kids, but it sort of depends on the age and the why of the hitting. In the late toddler/early twos sometimes they really don't know it is wrong. You have to start with telling them that it isn't ok and why or what to do instead. Now, in the late twos, we say something about not hitting/hitting hurts and go to time-out.

[Rabbitt]

Penalty box and crabby carpet!

My kids were, and still could be, put into the penalty box.
The penalty box is a taped square on the floor in the living room corner. When a bad behavior occurred, we gave a brief, stern explanation and sat them in the penalty box for as many minutes as old. Many times they would go again and again until the naughty behavior stopped (hitting, biting, throwing objects, hair pulling, sassy, etc.).

The crabby carpet was in the laundry room. It was a boring, yet safe area in our home. If they were throwing a tantrum or their mood was out of control crying, they sat on the crabby carpet until they were "happy." We would say just that..."You will sit on the crabby carpet until you are happy." Then we didn't have to see or hear it, much anyhow. Plus they didn't get the attn from the behavior. They could leave the crabby carpet when they came to say "I am sorry and happy now." The really neat thing about the crabby carpet is that it can go with you ANYWHERE (grandma's, vacation, store)! During those trying years, I made sure my sons knew I was packing it in the car. "I can get the crabby carpet out and you can sit on it right here in the store." I never had to in the store, but I did once at the baseball fields.

Good luck!

[Bored of Ed]

Some depends on age/development and personality. I have done different things at different stages with my daughter, it keeps coming back in different forms. When she was more of a baby and really just didn't know, it was taking her by the hand and showing her gentle touches. Later it came back as a boundary-testing kind of thing, she knew it was wrong and was looking for a reaction, I went the consequence-without-attention route (time out, mostly, though sometimes just withdrawing attention or moving myself to another place would be enough if we were doing something fun together). Now more recently she seems to be doing it for attention or out of wildness, so I'm working more preemptively on giving her lots of positive attention before anything starts and directing her to calmer activities when she's starting to get wound up. So far still waiting to see success... it seems to be working a little. She's 2 now.