10/11/2026
Hitting can look like defiance or aggression from the outside. But what is happening inside the child can tell a very different story.
When a child becomes overwhelmed, their nervous system can move into a protective response faster than their thinking brain can keep up. Big emotions, sensory overload, frustration, fear, tiredness or unmet needs can all sit beneath the behaviour.
That does not mean we ignore hitting or remove boundaries. We keep everyone safe. But we also recognise that the middle of dysregulation is not the moment for lectures, reasoning or teaching.
Safety first. Regulation next. Teaching comes later.
Because understanding the behaviour does not mean excusing it. It means giving us a much better chance of changing it.
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