Can a two-year old toddler be already a bully?

hi i hope this finds you doing well. i know that alot of parents have to leave thier children while working,but i belive if you do not have to leave your child there i would not.thas is a very young age and he or she still needs his parents close by .i dont think this means your cute little baby is or will be a bully i belive this is his little way of saying this is geting on my nerves and i need to be heard or what ever he is feeling it must be his way of trying to tell you something.little ones have such a way of trying to tell us something is wrong.there is plenty of time to teach him to play with others right now let him be a baby and cuddle him and love him and let him know you are there and he will grow up just fine.

That's cute, toddlers being a bully. lol! Anyways, toddler stage is the time where they play all by themselves. Their play is more like solitary and doesn't want to share any toys wih the other kds. That's totally normal for toddlers. Maybe that's the reason why he has been sorta bullying other kids because he doesn't want to share any of his toys.

Once I did something horrible with my own son…he was acting like a bully when around 4 or 5 years old and nothing I said about caring and sharing would work. He would throw toys at others and prevent others from interacting with each other if he did not like it…I become so flustered that one day I just threw back a toy at him. It hit him, though not hard, but he was kind of shaken out of his stupor. I asked him how did he like that and he was on the verge of crying and I took him gently in my arms and told him that that’s exactly how the other children felt. That they would avoid him out of fear and not respect. That to be included in a group, he has to accept them first and not throw things and intimidate them. I’m of course not telling you to throw things back at him…its dangerous…but you could just maybe stop talking to him or be nice to him. You know, make him realize that the way he behaves with others is not what he would want to be done to him.

Yes children as young as 2 can be bullies....that said though, its not as simple as a child being a bully...generally its a learned behaviour in fact at ANY age bullying is a learned behaviour.....I guess your best bet would be to evaluate the entire situation...For example... is your little one USE TO being around other children, sharing, taking turns etc (does he have playmates at home, siblings, cousins etc that he regularly spends time with)? Are you noticing this sort of behaviour at home? Is he an only child and do you cater to him, coddle him (tough question but you have to be brutally honest with yourself if you want to get to the bottom of it) Is there aggression in your family, your home or a home where your son may spend a lot of time?? You said: "The other day, he threw a toy block to his fellow playmate when my son saw this another playmate heading towards him." did you mean that as this other child was approaching your boy your boy threw the block at him? If thats what you meant then I would find out if your son and this other child have had issues before..it could be that they dont get along and your son is reacting to that.... There are plenty of other questions you could ask yourself but I'd start off with those...Do I think that a child of that age can be a bully? Absolutely...BUT...Do I personally think your child is a bully? No. not from the sounds of it but i dont know you or your child ya know....

Each toddler is different. Some are pretty aggressive, others not so much. We've got several kids in our classroom right now that kind of bully the other kids and cause problems. Now, we just make it clear that hitting, biting, pushing etc is unnacceptable behavior and that we will not tolerate it under any circumstances. Once they get older and move out of being a toddler into being a preschooler, things should change and their behavior should get better. What concerns me the most here is, that your son is 2 and is allowed to engage in play with children that are 1! In our center that is completely unnaceptable and by any means, children that are 1 are not to interact with children that are 2 or older. It creates problems, drama, stress, etc. Also, it does create bullies because younger children get beat up on by older children because they realize they can push their weight around.

The thought that instantly came to my mind when I read the title of your discussion is that 'yes'. Why only a two-year old?, even still smaller kids and toddlers can be potentially a great 'threat'. Have you seen the movie Baby's Day Out? If you haven't then you better see it fast and you will know why and how a toddler can be a headache. And if you have seen it, then you will remember that, it is not only your kid who is a bully. The more you try to prevent them from not doing certain things, the more they are inclined towards doing it. And then parenting becomes a frustraing and annoying job, right? I think you will agree with what I am saying because I have experienced all this and much more. I think, you should leave them to themselves. You will find this rather baffaling. But this is the truth. Only take care that the kid does not hurt himself.

I think that it is important to remember that your child is two years old and still growing and learning. There aren't too many things that are so deeply ingrained in him, that they can't be changed. My first reaction was also a "yes" to your question. But, at this stage I think that it is more important to characterize the behavior and not label the child. This way you can focus specifically on the child. I, also, have a two year old. Every time that I bring new toys home for the kids it ends up with my two year old hollering, screaming and very emotionally upset. I have to remove her from the situation once this behavior starts. I realize that she is the youngest of the group and still hasn't exactly mastered sharing and playing together. I also realize that she may be overstimulated. But, I know that this is not the sign of a serious problem. Her behaviour more represents a "phase" rather than a personality flaw. And, because she is not an unusually selfish or disagreeable child I know that she will grow out of. I believe that if you concentrate on the behaviour, and changing it, now before it becomes a habit of his, you will successfully mold a child who is not a bully. And you, as the parent, know how much attention this behavior will need in order for it to change. I am so happy to hear of your concern with your child becoming a bully. All parents should be like you. I truly think that most of the bullies in schools lack meaningful parental interaction.