HELP! Toddler Troubles! CONSTANT fighting...what Do You Do?!

I would say the visiting toddler has marked his territory if you will. My son has a similair situaiton at preschool. Him and his BFF are fine and then lately the BFF has been pushing our sons buttons and it turns out as you describe.

I think the key though is matching punsihment. My guess is the visitor views himself as the leader because your son is the one removed from the situation so he's decided it is all HIS HIS HIS! :) I would try eliminating the naughty chair and next time it happens and the boy asserts himself try something like..ok, this is not ok-we have to share...you can each play with a car-pick one..if they want the same toy they take turns.

Get through today and tomorrow, and maybe in the future, no play dates with this particular little boy until he starts getting better about sharing. And while he is there, I don't see anything wrong with gently telling him NO when he is grabbing and yelling "mine!" and maybe even trying to put him in time out for a minute if he can't listen. I don't know if it is really fair for your son to be one always in time-out just because the other one doesn't know the rules - how else will he learn unless he is taught? At this age they are too young to sort it out amongst themselves - their skills and abilities to negotiate are zero - so you are going to have to keep intervening. Maybe you could talk to the boys' mother about it when you see her and see what she says?

You have to see this through the eyes of your 2 year old. Playdates were fine because you always went home, or they did. He still had his things and his space. I think while the guest is there since he is staying at your house for a few days he should be corrected the same way as your child. In your child's eyes he is the only one getting put in time out or "punished". If the other child is doing the same thing as your child he should get the same. I don't agree with doing away with the tme out chair altogether. If that is the meathod you've chosen for your child you need to stick with it even if a friend or guest is there. They are typical 2 year olds. I would try to intervene sometimes and show them how to negotiate things. He is playing with that right now, how about you play with this? Also, remember your 2 year old went from being the only one to being one of three. That is hard. Have them play where you can see while you are attending to baby. Things aren't always going to be kosher. Just see to it no one gets hurt and make it through these couple days!

When you punish one and not the other there is going to be trouble. If you punish just your son then you will have him dislike the other boy and the other boy will use that to cause punishments for your son. When they get to fighting over a toy, put the toy up for the day and if it is a lot then put them both in time out. You need to make sure you don't show favortisim in the other boys favor just to show you don't want to show it in your son's favor or you will ruin the trust your son has for you

I'm with Laura D. on this one. REDIRECT. They are toddlers after all. Your son is having to do a lot of sharing which is very hard. All of this is all typical/normal behavior and it will get better with time. I would really limit timeouts at this age. Instead, redirect and use POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT. Praise your son up and down for all the good stuff he is doing. What a big boy he is for sharing this toys. Sympathize that its hard but its only for a short while. Praise the other boy for being so good at your house. Its hard for him to be there too. For being such a big boy at your house. Praise both of them when they help you clean up. Toddler tend to enjoy cleaning as much as making the mess. Distract them by letting them help with the baby. And remember, they are both good kids. They are just working through regular kid stuff. Each will learn on their own timeline. Because this is all new for you, it can seem like pretty outrageous behavior but as the mother of twin boys, I've seen it all. It gets better and then it gets worse. Each taking their turn at being the offender. Good luck!