How do you stop hair pulling?

My toddler won't stop pulling his sister's hair. She's 10 years older than him, but he just gets crazy sometimes and won't stop pulling.

What do I do to make him stop? We have tried time-outs, but that doesn't help in the long run.

Anyone else have this problem?

I bet it is by now a game for him, the little stinker ;)

Kids start hair pulling just like biting. They look for the reaction, and he obviously likes the reaction he gets by now or he would have stoped it. The trick is to get him to understand that it hurst his sister. But it isn't easy to make a little guy understand that it really hurts. I hope your daughter understands that he isn't doing it because he doesn't like her, in fact he likes her reaction so much that he comes back for more. You will have to work with your daughter and her reaction to the hair pulling first. Have her hold her hair close to the scalp when he pulls so it won't hurt as much. The more boring her reaction is to him pulling the faster he will stop. In time he will also understand that it hurts if you keep explaining to him. I know it is hard, but you can't reason with a toddler he is simply too young to understand. And your daughter isn't old enough either to just take the abuse, but I hope she will understand that her reaction is most likely the reason he likes to target her hair. You can also give him a reward when he starts to understand that he shouldn't pull. Just remember, rewards need to come right away at his age. hang in there it will get better.