Bratty Child

[mardeymum]

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right section here but i'm looking for some advice on dealing with difficult nephew. I have a DS ( 2yrs ) who likes spending time with his older cousin (5) but nearly everytime they get together the cousin is rough with him, spiteful, has hit him and generally rough with his toys etc. About 18 mths ago the cousins parents separated and we put a lot of it down to that but its still carrying on now. He is told off when he does misbehave but it doesn't seem to make much difference. He also cries every time he doesnt get his own way and generally every family gathering always becomes about him.

I know this is a child and I really want my son to have a good relationship with is him so he has good memories growing up, also its starting to come between me and my DH as he wants to do lots of things with our sons and him, even though he will admit himself the boy has a bit of a nasty streak in him but i try avoid inviting him over etc......
Any suggestions on how i can handle this - I wouldn't accept this behaviour from any kid and i certainly dont want my son thinking its ok and replicating it but how i can't avoid him forever...

Such a difficult situation.

I think when he is in your house for play dates it's your house your rules. He should be disciplined when he over steps the mark.

However I think he needs to be praised as well. He can't be badly behaved 100% of the time, maybe he will respond better if he gets some positive attention.

I also wonder if he finds playing with your DS a bit frustrating? There is a huge developmental gap between a 5 year old and a 2 year old. I can imagine they will probably get frustrated with each other if they are trying to do the same activity.

Perhaps when he comes over they can do more parallel play where they are spending time together but just doing slightly different activities?