Thank you for contacting www.education.com with your parenting question. Once your child begins to learn that he or she can interact with the world - watch out. For most children, there is just an explosion of exploration that is just fabulous to watch but sometimes hard to control. Children begin to touch everything within reach and experiment with manipulating what they feel. You can almost hear the workings of their minds, "what will happen if I pinch this??".
 
Your role as a parent is to consistently provide your child with discipline that will help him to stay safe. It is never to early to work on setting limits with your child and implementing some type of corrective teaching. In this instance, it sounds like your baby is merely exploring the world around him rather than trying to hurt you.
 
Many parents become quite adept at squelching or scolding misbehavior and this type of discipline certainly has it's place. In this instance, however, rather than focusing on the misbehavior, would you consider teaching your child what you would like to have him do instead? For example, you could take his hand before he can grab or pinch you and then just gently stroke your cheek. This will help your child to learn what type of touch is appropriate. Child certainly mimic others. If you are touching him in a gentle, sweet manner, it is much more likely that he will do the same.
 
Remember that whenever your child is engaging in a behavior you would like him to repeat, praise, praise, praise. Reinforce any positive behavior by smiling, nodding, winking or through your words.
 
Lastly, be consistent in your response to your child's actions. Don't let him grab and pinch one time and then correct him the next. This can be confusing and will greatly slow the learning process.
 
For more information on how to deal with the behavior of a toddler, please feel free to visit the Boys Town website of www.parenting.org. On this site, you will find a wealth of information on many child rearing topics.
 
Boys Town National Hotline
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