Keeping hands to themselves

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I may get lynched for saying this, but at three years of age this child is old enough to know better. I would use my serious voice and tell him that "No - David was using that toy" and then return the toy to the original child. I would then have him sit at my feet for a couple of minutes - to re-earn the privilledge of playing freely with the other children. If he continues to misbehave, you could isolate him. I had a 3 year old dcg who did this sort of thing, and she was really insulted at being put in a playpen - but it worked. She didn't want to be a "Baby" and she learned PDQ that if you want to play with the other children, you must play nicely.