I know my kid isn't perfect. No kid is. They all have their moments.
Sumo has one behavioral issue and it stems from his .... Sumoness. How do I describe it? It comes from his
joie de vive. His enthusiasm and excitement. His social butterfly sensibilities. All of those things that make him who he is and make him so (in my Mommy opinion) spectacular.
What's the issue? He is too rough with other kids. Sure, when they're 2, they all occasionally hit or push or grab toys or whatever. But Sumo doesn't really do those things. No, his issue is tougher. He hugs other children and frequently gets so excited to see other kids that he tackles them to the ground. He grabs them in euphoria. He thinks they are ALL playing with him all the time, and doesn't understand why they start crying when he has thrown them to the ground. He always says "sorry, friend" and looks sad, but doesn't seem to be able to connect the behavior he's done to the crying. It's sad to see.
It's also impossible to get him to stop since he doesn't seem to get why they're upset. HE doesn't care if HE gets shoved/hit/tackled/pinched/kicked/etc. so he doesn't understand why other kids cry when he hug/tackles them to the ground. He thinks it's play. He thinks it's play when they kick him. He thinks it's play when he tackles them. THEY don't think it's play when he tackles them, and they start crying. He just doesn't get it.
It's posing an issue at preschool. Sumo goes two mornings a week, 3 hours each day. He LOVES it. He loves to be around other kids. Unfortunately, his ... Sumoness ... means that he takes out a lot of smaller, weaker kids. He is, after all, significantly bigger than even the oldest kids in his class. His teacher and I are both struggling.
If I had a penny for every time I say, "Calm down/be gentle" on a given day ... I'd be a rich woman.
Time out just doesn't work. He IS sorry when he does it, but doesn't seem to understand why the kids cry so he generally gets right back out of time out and does it again. He's unable to connect HIS behavior to THEIR response, in other words. If it were malicious I think it would be one thing, but his behavior really isn't malicious. It's just ... excitement. And Sumoness.
Talking to him about it doesn't work, either. "Look, honey, he's sad because you tackled him. You have to be gentle with people." He doesn't seem to understand. He goes and says, "Sorry," tries to give them a kiss on their boo-boo, and then does it again.
The closest thing I've found is trying to run the energy out of him. But, of course, when you take him to the playground, there are other kids that he tries to hug/tackle, so this isn't a perfect method. His dad is the one who tries to run the energy out of him with horseplay, but alas, this pregnant mama can't do horseplay right now and I'm the one here with him all day.
There's no tackle football for 2 year olds.
I'm sure that eventually, he'll understand the concept. He's a bright kid, and very verbal. In the mean time, I try to protect myself from Sumo beatdown by curling into the fetal position and protecting my ... well ... fetus in my abdomen from the euphoria. I sincerely hope Version 2.0 is as tough as Version 1.0 ... I imagine he will be.
In the mean time, I'm grateful for the Sumoness of my kid. I'm so glad he doesn't whine and snivel when other kids hit/punch/kick/beat/throw him to the ground. I hate wimpy kids. I also hate the ones who say, "I don't want to play with him." Eff you, you 3 year old biotch! And the ones who whine, "He hit me." My kid had the verbal skills to say both of those things, but he doesn't. My kid will play with anybody ... whether they want him to or not. I'm grateful that he's not mean-spirited and that he loves everybody and will give anybody (big, small, black, white, or polka dot) a hug.