As a parent who has a child that hits (5 yrs old) I can tell you that years and years of trying to figure it out why, lead us to a issue of sensory and problems with personal space and autism. I WISH WISH my daycare provider would have been knowledgeable in sensing out the real root of the issue and not just that she is a violent kids CAUSE she isnt.

Hitting and lashing out at that older age is usually a sign of something else, not just violent behavior. My daughter was using it has a coping method to PURPOSELY get in trouble so she could be sent for a time out because she couldnt vocalize that she was feeling overwhelmed and pressure from people around her. Its a strategy she learned from a early age that if she does it, she gets removed and gets to have her breathing space.

We now have taught her that she must not lay her hands on anyone and if she wants space she has every right to take a 5 min cool down and step away to her special spot until she can regain composure and join the kids again.