Why Toddlers Hit, Bite, and Throw

Toddlers have big feelings but haven't learned how to talk about them yet. Hitting, biting, and throwing are normal for their age and usually stop as they get older and better at communicating. Parents play a huge role in teaching their children how to handle their emotions. Host Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez is joined by Mirna Tomic, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a child therapist at Arizona Child Psychology, to discuss these behaviors, how working together (co-regulation) can teach kids to manage their own feelings (self-regulate), and more!Host:Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez is the Chief of the Office of Children’s Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services. She is married, has two young children, and loves reading (anything except parenting books!) and watching movies and TV.  She enjoys spending time with her kids (when they aren’t driving her crazy) and celebrating all of their little, and big, accomplishments. Jessica has been in the field of family and child development for over 20 years, focused on normalizing the hard work of parenting and making it easier to ask the hard questions.Links: Strong Families AZ Host: Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez Guest: Mirna Tomic, MAS-IFP, MSW, LCSW Circle of Security International Blog and other parent resources Birth to Five Helpline - resources, referrals Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP) - developmental screenings and evaluations Book: “Emotional Life of the Toddler” by Alicia Lieberman Book: "The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind" by Daniel Siegel  Book: "No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind" by Daniel Siegel  Book: “Parenting from the Inside Out: How A Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive” by Daniel Siegel (the title says it all) Book: “Raising a Secure Child” (Circle of Security) by Hoffman, Cooper, & Powell