Hey Jessica,

I work in the area of social skills but with kids older than your son...

Anyway...it's really important to remember that as kids are learning to coordinate themselves in other ways (e.g. walking, running, jumping, fine motor skills)...they are also learning to coordinate their social behaviours.

It's really normal for toddlers to be 'aggressive' and 'self focussed' with their peers...that's how they are meant to be...they really don't have the brain wiring to be able to do otherwise yet...they don't have the skills to take another person's perspective or to use their language skills to resolve conflict or express their feelings...

So...I guess what I'm saying, is what your son is doing is pretty normal...but I can totally understand that it's hard to watch...like others have said, I'm sure you would see other kids his age doing the same thing as well...aggression peaks between the ages of 2-4 and then really drops off...kids don't begin to be less egocentric until they are a bit older...it's a survival mechanism to be egocentric at their age...

Certainly, I think it's really important to model apporpriate ways to behave and interact with others...and praise him for when he does try things like sharing... and to have some sort of consequences in place, especially with aggression...but at the same time, knowing that this is part of early social development...just like a 2.5 year old can't do some motor skills, they also can't handle some social skills...

In terms of behaviour management, one of the best programmes I have ever used (and continue to use in my work) is a programme called 123 magic. It's fantastic with kids aged between the ages of 2-12. Alot of parenting agencies use this programme. Try googling it, if you're interested...it's a time out programme that works fantastically...

Anyway...wishing you all the very best...