[LadyCatherine185]

My DS1 (almost 3) has always been more on the "aggressive" side. He was the 1 year old who pushed all the other kids down and took their toys, etc etc.... At that age we did a lot of redirection, "gentle hands" etc etc and that seemed to help.

The issue we are having now, is that he is getting more and more rough with DS2. He is CONSTANTLY pushing him over, head-butting him, hitting him, biting, throwing toys at him, etc. If DS2 cries he immediately says "i'm so sorry! sorry! sorry!" to DS2 and really does seem sorry.... But, 2 minutes later he does something else! And it isn't just the hurting, he also has no sense of other people's personal space. He is always RIGHT UP in DS2's face.

We talk to him about it until we are blue in the face... "You need to be gentle and sweet to your brother, You need to stop hurting him, Please back up and give him some space... etc etc"

He is usually put in timeout when he hurts him. I don't know what else to do.

Please help!

ETA: He also really loves his brother, he always wants to play with him, gives him lots of hugs and kisses, purposely does "funny" things to make him laugh, etc. But he just seems to not be able to control the "aggressive" side

 

[flightgoddess]

Keep what you are doing, redirection, time out when necessary. My nephew was, I suppose you could say, 'aggressive' mostly big of his age but not totally incontrol of his motor skills and impulses, which is totally normal for a toddler/preschooler. He'd play with the big kids (4-5-6) at the park and keep up becuase of his size, but at home, those types of movement would be a little too much for playing with little kids and babies. And he LOVES his little cousins and his little sister, so we know his behavior is often not on purpose. He gets lots of reminders on the right way to play with little ones, suggestions of things they can play safely together, and yes, time outs when he goes too far and doesn't heed warnings/hurts someone. Don't think of the time out as punishment, necessarily, but as a 'break' from the activity to rest, think, and regroup with a new play strategy.