What to Do When You Feel Like Hitting
Welcome back to Bibliotherapy Thursday! This week, we’re featuring a gem of a book that is a fantastic resource for parents and caregivers of toddlers: What to Do When You Feel Like Hitting by Cara Goodwin, PhD.
In simple and easy-to-grasp terms, Dr. Goodwin normalizes big feelings and introduces the concept of “gentle hands.” She explains that using our hands to hit someone is not safe, but we can use gentle hands to do things like feel our tummies take big deep breaths, hug and squeeze a stuffed animal, or even use sign language to alert a grown up to what we need when it’s difficult to say out loud. By offering these ideas, the book helps children learn to redirect their emotions in a safer way. When reading with your toddler, it may be helpful to ask them what their favorite ideas were and practice doing them. Many toddlers love showing and teaching, so get them to teach you or their favorite stuffed animal what to do!
You can find What to Do When You Feel Like Hitting in print and e-book at these retailers:
Morning Light doesn’t receive compensation for sharing book recommendations, nor do we receive a commission if you choose to buy the book. We just love them and think some of our clients may find them useful!