Tips for 4yr old interactions with babe

[omelette]

My sons are 4yrs and 8mos old.
My 4 yr old loves his little brother so much and is thrilled to play and interact with him. This makes my heart melt b/c he gets the little one giggling and smiling away.
The problem though is that he is very hands on, in his face and a little rough with him. If babe is on the floor crawling ds1 will grab him and pull him or just get on top of him so he can't move which then sets the wee one into a fit a crying. His hugs are also a little on the strong side. When ds2 is standing he also pulls him down, calling it a hug but unfortunately it often results in a bonk for the babe.
We've talked about how ds2 loves to interact with him but he needs to be mindful of his movements and strength around the baby. We've given suggestions on different ways they can play together as well. Ds1 continues to play too aggressively with the little one. I know it's not intentional and he doesn't want to hurt his brother, I think it's just that he is a 4yr old boy who doesn't know his own strength yet and who is so excited to play.
So, I'm looking for suggestions b/c dh and I are starting to sound like broken records. Ds1 give him some space. Be mindful of your feet with him pls. Let him move himself to where he would like to go.......
Any ways to make him see that he needs to slow his body down around ds2 and watch his actions?

[maddymama]

I'm right there with you... DD1, who just turned four, is rough with DD2, who is 10 months old. We've tried "Your sister is telling you she doesn't like X,Y,Z." and "Play gentle." that only works for so long (like 3 minutes.)
I'd love to see what other moms have to say about this.... because it's tough, especially when all of our friends IRL with two babies the older one could't care less about the younger one.
~maddymama

[Girlprof]

We have the same situation, but we are two years into it. DS (now age 6.5) dotes on DD (now age 2.5). She adores him too. I think time is the only thing that has helped us. I doubt there is anything you can do but continue to remind the older sibling that they need to be careful of the younger one. I would never trust a 4 year old alone with a baby, even (or maybe especially!) a well-meaning 4 year old.

But now that our two are a bit older, it is just as often that DD will come and flop herself on top of DS for a wrestling session. He probably is gentler than he was at 4 and they have a great time together. Sometimes you just have to be a broken record, you know?