My son has always been kinda rough. At daycare they always say nice touches...show me nice touches. So we’ve done that. We’ve tried talking, swatting his hand, time out. Nothing has ever stopped it completely. We just try to stay consistent telling him no we don’t act like that. He’s so much better then he was. It’s like he didn’t know his own strength and it’s taken a very long time to learn.

My daughter is 4, she learned a bad habit from an ex of mine. He would abuse his dog in front of her when she was 2. She didn't actually start hitting the animals until like a year ago and I tried time outs. I tried taking things away. You name it. Didn't work for her. So I told her if she hits the pets then I will hit her. She hit the dog so I smacked her butt and she cried. "Did you like being hit?" I would ask. She would say no. It took a few times but she finally got that "oh, this is what I do to them and it happens to me when I do it. I don't like it so I should stop"