How do I help a young child learning about the social world?

[RottenRow]

My DD is 2.5 very talkative and confident so has a habit of approaching older children to play with. Sometimes they want to sometimes they don't which is fair enough so I try to encourage DD to do something else rather than be a nuisance. But how do I handle it when an older child starts to use a younger one as a bit of a pawn in their game, trying to encourage them to do something naughty or that is going to frighten them? Do you step in and prevent your child coming off the wrong end of the game, or is it a case of the law of the jungle and that DD has to learn that older children play more sophisticated games sometimes at her expense?

I don't want to be some mad over protective parent but I really have no idea what is appropriate.

I think I would step in and gently remove. If in a playground fairly easy as can be time to go home/ on the swings.. whatever. If you feel able you could say to kids 'oh little rotten a bit young for this game' with a smile as removing.

Err I am aware removing can cause tantrums though.. maybe have choc buttons to hand!

If I saw an older child (or any child) getting ds to do something that was wrong or would hurt him then I'd intervene. I'd probably say something like "come on, play nicely please. He's younger than you" to the other child.

Having said that, I don't tend to hover if ds goes off to play with other children, but he's older than your dd (4). At 2.5 I'd have kept a slightly closer eye, as much to remove ds if he was bothering them than anything else. I found most older children were great with him though.

Is there a guidebook for this sort of stuff or do you just learn as you go along?

Just do whatever you think you'd have liked your mum to do when you were that age.

The only difference is that some parents now seem to hate other people telling off their children so you might want to be careful with that. I've never had a problem though (although I don't really do "telling off" as such, more "ha ha lets all play nicely now" said in jocular tones, or alternatively if I catch a wrong-doer's eye works well).