My son, the bully

My sweet, innocent baby, my dear hearted gentle lover of animals has turned into the bad seed. He pushes kids down. Like, not in a nice, lets-hug-but-I-don't-know-my-own-strength way. More of a, you-are-in-my-way-and-I-am-bigger-than-you-so-MOVE way. The first time this happened, I thought it was a fluke. We were at my friend Lisa's house who has a daughter a bit younger than Oliver. I kept thinking maybe it was cause she had a toy he wanted or because she was eating something he wanted. Nope, turns out he just likes asserting his authority. By the end of the play date, Rylee (the little girl) was flinching visibly each time Oliver went past her. A few times she sat down before she could get pushed. I felt like a horrible mom. As if I modeled the behavior to bank tellers, waiters and the bagger at the HEB. "I said meat in a SEPARATE bag!" PUSH!

The second time it happened, it got real. It was at the pool, and while the other kids were floating around or jumping from the sides into their mothers' waiting arms, my son was creeping up behind them and pushing them down on the concrete. See picture, you can see that Oliver is looking at the kid with malice in his eyes, burning a hole into that poor new walker! The sad part is that the kid just got right back up and thought nothing of it, like a puppy who kept getting kicked. Redirection didn't help, it is too soon for time out and I won't spank especially as the problem is violence.

If I know Oliver, this is like a week long phase, and then he will be back to sharing and being sweet! I just fear for the toddlers that get in his way in the meantime!