5 Year Old Behavior - Houston,TX

Telling him what to do instead of what to stop doing may be helpful. Show him that he needs to be one arms length away from other kids faces all the time. Practice this with him, make it the rule and avoid "don't" statements. give him "do" statements instead, and remind him of the rules before he has interactions with other kids. Give him a plan, decide before hand what the reward is if he suceeeds, make it something simple and free. I would tell him that it is never OK for him to touch the other children's ears, and that the concequence for doing that will be to go home right away, then do it no matter what.

M.

He's only 5, and that doesn't sound like bullying behavior. If he's still doing it when he's 6, just tell him putting his face in other people's faces can be kind of irritating and maybe he should cut it out.

Maybe also let him know that if another child is sick then he could also get sick. Teach him all the reasons. It seems like more reason to the child then maybe he/she realizes that its not ok on many accounts.

sounds like normal 5 yr old boy to me. i wouldn't stress about it, if it bothers the kids then they will let him know.

You have a lot of good advice here. I agree with all of it. One thing I have to add is that knowing how to interact properly doesn't always come naturally to kids. My 5 year old son has his issues when interacting with others as well. What he thinks is appropriate for trying to get another child's attention and engage in play can be annoying to others and considered weird. I have had to teach him (in a positive way) what to do when he confronts a child. I will spell it out for him. Walk up to them and say, "Hi my name is XYZ, want to play tag?" He's not going to change right away. You will have to continue to remind him of what to do for a while. This is how he will learn. He doesn't sound like a bully to me. He just sounds like a child who needs help learning about social skills and interactions. Very common, especially with boys. I have seen huge changes in my son.