How to Stop Son from Hitting/pushing Kids in Preschool?

My youngest daughter has also just started preschool, 2 half days, and she is 3. I'm having similar problems. mine fortunatly are at home and not at school. Any change nomatter how small or how good is hard for a little one. 3 or not they are still babies. I'm a daycare provider so my daughter ahs always been with other kids and she is one of the youngest of 5 in the house so sharing and getting along with others has been a fact of her life since day one. school is still a big adjustment though. new people, new athourity figures, new things to do and see, it's a lot. nommatter how happy and ready a child is to go to school they don't always adjust quickly or well in the beggining. With my daughter i've found that since she has to share and listen in such a structured environment at school she comes home and doesn't want to do it anymore. what's worked for me is a lot of praise for what she is doing that we like, we have a star chart that is just great, and very firm boundries, if she wants to hit and throw a tantrum she does it in her room alone, since your son is acting out at school you could try talking to him about why he is hitting and see if you can't get him to wait till he is at home in a safe place and give him a pillow. a designated kick and scream and hit and be grumpy place, and then let him go. he's probally just frusterated about the change and he will get used to it but it's hard when they are in school so infrequently. good luck and just remember he's still a baby and he will get through this.

My son does the same thing when he is with other kids his age. We haven't found a solution that I've been willing to try yet (time out does not work with him). You just need to have the school practice the same, effective discipline with him that you do at home. He's probably testing the waters there to see what he can get away with.

Kelly,

My son is 2 1/2 and in daycare full time. We have had a few problems with children hitting, my son and it is frustrating. We worked with the daycare,who worked with the child's parents by suggesting timeouts to be used at home and school- so that the reaction was consistent. Also, it turned out that this child is a slow developer as far as verbal skills- so he hits when he is frustrated or wants something-- instead of using his words. Your son is adjusting to a new environment with lots of new people and things. I would work out a behavior, such as timeouts, or something with the teachers and encourage him to use his words when frustrated. My guess is that this will pass as he adjusts to school.

I have a 3 year old son who is like that as well. He goes to daycare everyday of the week and often gets incident reports for hitting children. I say it is because of how rough his daddy plays with him at home and that he is playing. But he is not quite as verbal as some of the kids in his class and I believe that it is his way of communicating his feelings as well. As a 2 year old my son was a biter and grew out of it. It is a growing thing. My husband says he will not stop playing rough with his son and hasn't but my son has since stopped hitting so much. My son hits hard and I think that is why he gets in trouble. He usually will hit back but rarely starts the fight. Talk to your son about not hitting his friends but, I still believe that it is a growing thing and will fade away over time. It did with my son. Also with your son going to daycare for such short periods of time only 2 days a week could be a reason he hits as well. He isn't around children his age for most of the week and has you around. The transition of home and preschool can be hard.