Hi there,

My DS is 21 months and is very, very active and without any social graces. He no longer wants to sit in the pusher when we go to the plaza and insists on walking and now also refuses to hold my hand. I tell him that he needs to stay very close to me or I will have to hold his hand. After a short while he goes too far from me and I grab his hand and then he protests. Eventually (maybe 10 mins later) I try a again and we repeat this process over and over.

The other things he does when he is free walking is grabbing chip bark out of pot plants in the plaza and throwing over the floor. There is usually too much bark thrown and I feel overwhelmed so we don't usually pick it up, although he threw 2 pieces today and I got him to pick it up. Also, he will grab at people's bags when he is walking past them. When he does this I get down to his level and tell him that he mustn't do this.

Finally, the next thing he does is become fascinated with other kids hair, particularly if it is a different texture or color to his own. He starts pointing and then wants to touch it, which leads to grabbing (he actually goes to childcare and they have never raised this as a problem, which surprises me because it's been happening for awhile).

Okay, so given the above scenarios we regularly face:
* has anyone else had similar experiences and how have your managed?
* should I only give him one or two chances to free walk? am I giving him too many chances? My theory had been give him regular chances to try and integrate what I had told him or if he does those things again multiple chances to learn lessons
* at this age and stage should I be insisting on pusher or holding my hand and just dealing with the tantrums of it?

Thank you