LisaFaith

I didn't think you were hitting your child back. I'm just saying that if you are spanking him, then he is learning to hit when he is angry. And I'm not one of those people who thinks nobody should spank their kids.

Have there been any big changes in his life that would cause this kind of anger?

Also, what does he watch on t.v? All kids go through a hitting phase to some extent, but punching, in my opinion, has to be learned somewhere. We adopted our DS#2 out of foster care at age 2 1/2, and he was sooooooo aggressive and violent. His foster family let him and his older brother (DS#1 who was 4 at the time) watch terribly violent movies like The Matrix. They were also allowed to watch violent cartoons all day long. DS#1 has never showed any violent tendancies or aggression, but DS#2 has always been aggressive. Everything he plays is hitting or fighting. He has never hit me or my DH, but he has hit his two brothers. We're constantly telling him no hitting and no fighting. It's been 2 1/2 years now, and he still does it.

As far as what to do: consistancy, consistancy, consistancy. I would calmly tell him no hitting, and then put him in a playpen, or some area that he can not get out of, until he calms down. At such a young age they don't understand a lot of talking, so keep it simple. Once he has calmed down, hug him and tell him again no hitting. You have to do it everytime though.

Good luck, I hope you find something that works...