I don't have any children but i remember when my brother was growing up he went through a stage of belting my mum, she would smack him back the same way he hit her.

They don't understand what theyre doing is hurting you so if you do it back they feel that it actually does hurt, so when she cries you can tell her that it does hurt when she acts out like that.

As much as hitting your child may upset you but she has to know that behaving like that is not on.

My nephew is going through that phase and my sister in law does nothing about it, i actually took him and my niece out for the day with my partner and we took them to a playground and my nephew attacked another kid made the little boy bleed and when we took him home and told my sister in law all she said was "good on ya you won your first fight" and gave him a lollypop! i was absolutely disgusted that she rewarded his bad behaviour.

I havent talked to her since that day.