My 18 month old son has recently started slapping me and his nanny. He also has slapped other kids at the playground. he doesn't really seem angry or frustrated when he does it. It's almost like its out of curiosity. I have talked to him a lot about gentle touches, no hitting, etc. but it doesn't seem to sink in. We also tell him no when he does this and almost always give him a time out. But he'll just keep doing it if he's in the mood (which results in more time outs). I just bought the "Hands are Not for Hitting" book on amazon, so hopefully that will help. Any other ideas? Also assurances that my son will not grow up to be a sociopath are appreciated. 
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My 18 month old son is doing the same thing! He usually does it when he's overly excited or when he's super tired. I haven't figured out what else to do other than tell him not to hit and to use gentle hands. This is a timely question for me.
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The only way we solved it was with a firm "no!" and immediately move her somewhere facing a wall. She'd throw a fit.
After a minute or two, we go over and tell her "we don't hit - we're gentle with people. Can I have a big hug?" and all seems to be better.
It took about a month of this for her to get it. But we haven't had a hitting incident in about two months.
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We did the same as @AmandaB8. We also noticed that our dog was getting smacked for being bad (don't judge) in front of him. Stoping that helped as well.
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my LO went through a big hitting, biting, scratching phase around 18m. it was terrible. hands are not for hitting and repeating the phrases from it worked for us at that age, as did completely ignoring it at home. it was like he was testing out the reaction and we noticed those who reacted the least got hit in the future the least.
unfortunately it just came back at 28 months, along with screaming, and we are having a much harder time dealing with it now. ARGHHH.
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@charlotte: @AmandaB8: @ladybee: Thank you for the ideas! It sounds like persistence and time is what I need.
@MrsKoala: Sorry you are going through this as well!
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What are his triggers? LO went through a phase like this mainly when someone was holding him and he was upset about something. I would respond by saying, "Gentle touch!" firmly and putting him down and walking away. That book was also helpful!
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No advice, but I am following this ... Our LO is into random hitting too. We usually just sit her down, say, "I won't let you touch my body like that!", and walk away. It doesn't really seem to help, but seriously, I think 18 month olds are the test of our mental strength!!!
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LO did this as well around 18 months, and it was only with me. Being very consistent with your approach (the time outs, explaining to him that we don't hit, we touch gently) worked, but only after it went on for a while. If I saw it coming, I would grab his hand and sternly say, "No...we do NOT hit."
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@hilsy85: He does seem to do it more when he's tired. That's about the only thing I can think of. Glad to hear book was helpful.
@littlejoy: It certainly is a test. I am four months pregnant, and sometimes I wonder if we had waited to TTC until LO was 18 months whether we would have decided to go ahead with it!
@2PeasinaPod: I will try heading them off at the pass. Good idea. Will stay the course and be consistent since that seems to have worked for everyone!
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@raintreebee: LOL! I totally felt that way--LO got SO much harder like two months after I got pregnant again. Great timing
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@raintreebee: Ha! And I feel like the longer I go before TTC, I'll never want to!
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@raintreebee: I think it's just consistency in comminicating a clear boundary , however you choose to do it. Whenever I worry about mine being a sociopath, I remember a study I read that concluded that human beings peak in violence when they're 2 years old, so I figure that if the height of her violence is some non angry bites or face hits then we're doing pretty well!
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My LO used to go to a co-op preschool baby class. We had teachers that were child development specialist. They told us that when kids that age are hitting/pushing, etc are trying to communicate, say hello, or trying to play with or interact with the other kid/person in some way. The recommended saying "hitting hurts" and then basically distracting them or encourageing them to say hello, give a gentle touch or communicate in another way.
How verbal is your LO? Maybe you could teach him a few baby signs to help him with communication? Maybe start with "help", "want", "all done" ?
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Here are some links from Janet Lansbury that may be helpful:
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2015/01/the-most-important-thing-to-know-about-your-childs-aggression/http://www.janetlansbury.com/2012/09/biting-hitting-kicking-and-other-challenging-toddler-behavior/
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