Toddler shouting GO AWAY constantly and pushing

[chocbiscuits]

Ds (2.4) has recently started shouting GO AWAY, at anyone and everyone. Then my friend has just mailed me about her son who is his dearest mate, and they've played together since they were 3mo and spent most of the week together at nursery. My Ds has been shouting GO away and pushing him until he started crying. I get told to go away almost constantly and so did grandma at the weekend.
He's normally really laid back and chirpy, not normally like this.
Even if you don't take the hurtful connotations, then he just keeps repeating it over and over. Can't be good for him.

Has also started scratching near his eye and keeps poking and scratching it.

Any ideas?
chocbiscuits

Perhaps it's some kind of attention seeking behaviour? You know what little one's are like - anything that's going to provoke a reaction. How do you react to him when he tells you to go away? Perhaps in your case it's the maybe negative reaction he gets and in his little frineds case, the tears that he's waiting for - it may not necessarily be because he's feeling anti social. Have you tried some kind of destraction tactic to snap him out of the behaviour like....'I was going to take you to feed the ducks, but if mummy has to go away, i won't be able to' or something that makes him not want you to go away? My dd will often say go away to little girls or boys she sees who come too close in the supermarket, or sometimes at playgroup - but I put that down to her being possessive over me and not wanting them to come too close when I'm there.....my husband says she dosn't do it when she's with him. She will also scratch at herself when she's angry so i don't think the face scratching is anything too much to worry about....just a way of venting frustration. Little ones are hard to fathom sometimes! x.