I'm just starting out and have a little 3 year old boy a couple of mornings a week. He's settled in well with not so much as a single tear and seems to love coming here. He is no more badly behaved than your average 3 year old but is full of energy and has taken a real shine to my 21 month old. The problem is he shows his affection by almost constantly wanting to cuddle her. Hard. It's half cuddle, half throttle.
My DD hates it and is now at the point where the moment he gets near her she screams like a banshi. He really won't listen to me on this issue either - so I can see him approaching her and intercept, reminding him that DD doesn't like to be hugged but he ignores me and carries on until I physically intervene. Every single time.
So far I'm taking the 'prevention is better than cure' approach, I keep them busy and occupied and obviously never leave them alone. But the minute I pause for breath or turn my back to pick something up he's straight over grabbing at her. I'm also trying to be very positive - encouraging more gentle interaction with her and praising him for it. None of this seems to be working yet though and I think I need a firmer approach i.e a consequence/some discipline if he ignores my warnings to leave her be. We're into our second week together - he was with me three mornings last week though and every day was the same.
Any advice?? What are your preferred discipline methods? And when should I involve the mother? I feel his behaviour is very normal for a 3 year old (if incredibly annoying) so I don't want to give her the impression there's some big problem.