I have had a child in my care now for almost two years (3yr 9m old boy). My problem is that he is consistently hitting/kicking etc. He is even smart enough to wait until he thinks that I have left the room to act.....

My question is: what would you do for guidance etc for this type of consistent behavior?

I have tried:

-shadowing him all day ( not realistic but I thought I would give it a go for awhile)
-have him sit with myself where ever I go (if I am doing laundry, he is doing laundry etc.)
-time outs in a room where he can not see other children for max of 4min (this does not seem to phase him as he will come out and just commence undesired behavior again)
-redirection- sending him off to do an activity by himself (this works best as he is assigned to an activity and I choose when hi is finished).

I guess I am wondering if you are having constant problems with a child and their behavior would you let them play by them self all morning as a consequence with the reason being 'if you can't keep your hands on your own body then you are not welcome to play with others'. Is this too long to be by yourself playing?

Also, would you ever put a child in a time away/time out for longer or do you stick with 1min per how old the child is?

I feel that this child knows the rules and is quite understanding of what is being asked of him, I just feel that nothing is working as the behavior continues each day and it is really starting to FRUSTRATE me!!

I want to keep this child as I enjoy the family and other then the constant behavior issues that we have consistently throughout the day. He is a really sweet little boy and I want to help him work through these issues. Any suggestions would be appreciated Thank you!