What to Do If Someone Else’s Child Hits Yours

When your child is playing with other children, there is always the possibility that things between them could get a little heated. Most parents have experienced having their kid get hurt by another child while playing with other children.

So what should you do if something like this were to happen? Susan Stiffelman, The Huffington Post’s AdviceMama provides some advice on what to do if someone else’s child hits yours.

Close adult supervision for playing children

To make sure nothing untoward happens there should be close adult supervision for playing children, says Stiffelman.  Since kids will always be kids, Stiffelman also recommends that you shorten play dates. Instead of having them play together all day, enforce some sort of a limit because kids could be worn out if you make it last too long, and that makes them prone to hitting one another. If possible, let the play date end on a positive note.

Still, if things between your child and your neighbour’s kid remain hairy despite close adult supervision for playing kids and shortened play dates, Stiffelman recommends that your kid should take a break from playing with that other child. She says you should give it a month or two before having them play together again, with the hope that the other child has developed better impulse control and be less likely to hit.

Keep calm at all times

Personally, the one thing I can recommend if someone else’s child hits yours is you should keep your calm, at all times. I have seen some overly protective parents blow their top upon hearing that a neighbour’s child hit theirs, and proceed to aggressively confront the offending child and his parents. Nothing good ever came out of anything like that. The best thing you can do is talk to the offending child’s parents in the calmest way possible, and work things out together so nothing of the sort would ever happen again every time your kid goes playing with other children.

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Tags: parenting

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