11month old bully??

[Harmony83]

My gorgeous little man is turning into a bully... When playing with other littlies, he sometimes, hits them, grabs them, and takes there toys away. I know he is not deliberatly being mean and he thinks he is just playing, but I am getting a little concerned. How do I discourage him from playing so rough with other children?

[MariaO]

My little one is nearly 11 months and in my mothers/babies group we all find the babies a little rough with each other and apt to grab each others toys. I would just gently tell him to be gentle and then I would give back the toy he has swiped/ say sorry to the other baby he has grabbed. They will eventually get the message (I hope!)

[rynosmum]

Harmony, let me firstly congratulate you on identifying the behaviour and trying to remedy it.

We are going through a similar situation at the moment with a close friend's child - he will continually push my son over, snatch toys away etc. He is just on 2 years and although the parents are consciously trying to stop the behaviour, it's not working for any of us. Unfortunately I am forced to prevent our children from playing together anymore until it is sorted out - perhaps if his behaviour had also been identified early, this may have all been avoided.

That said, my son (now 20 months) also went through a little phase of this around his first birthday. I found that showing him the best example, as Maria indicated, was the best form of teaching.

We were at a BBQ last night and my DS and another little one - about 21 months were getting biscuits for each other and sharing toys together easily. No tears, no jealousy - it was a joy to watch.

Best of luck - you're on the right track !