Thanks - yes he has tried to hit mom but she doesn't allow. She's on board with nipping this in the bud as he's bullying at home too. He does have an older sibling and prob some behavior is learned from that. Guess it's terrible twos happening too. Yes, empathy comes when they're older. It's unprovoked and random; after nap or snack so not tired or hungry. After he pushes or pokes in the face, and gets child crying, he tries to divert the conversation to something else - 'what colour is this?" or "I tooted" trying to get a laugh...smart eh? Hasn't happened yet today .. I do like the idea of paying more attention to the victim and less to provoker. My own son wrote the book on bad behavior so I should be able to handle, but he always said sorry!