What to do about aggressive kid at playgroup?
Today was my turn to host playgroup. We have a little boy in the group who has always been on the aggressive side, but lately has just gotten worse and worse. Today he bit through one of Sarah's Gertie balls and destroyed it, deliberately pinched another little boy on the cheek, and I *think* he also knocked that little boy down today too. In the past, he has pushed down many children at playgroup (including DD once). This type of behavior usually happens when he and another child are interested in the same toy.
He used to exhibit these behaviors occasionally, but today it was several all at once. I know that these are normal behaviors that all toddlers exhibit from time to time, but his aggressiveness seems to be really escalating. Maybe I have an exceptionally well behaved playgroup, but this little boy's behavior really stands out from the rest of the playgroup of 15 two year olds. All are normal and active and there are occasional "spats", but its only when he's there that there is a lot of physical aggression. His mother seems to be aware of it and always immediately goes to him and makes him apologize and says something along the lines of "No hitting, we don't hit", but as far as I can tell, this does not seem to be effective.
Honestly, I'm getting to be afraid to let DD play around this kid on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, he is very tall and solid for his age, so in addition to being aggressive, he's got some power behind it. I felt like I had to watch her and him like a hawk today to make sure she didn't get hurt and that he didn't damage my house or destroy (more) toys.
I don't know what I'm asking here. I guess I'm wondering if those of you with older kids can give some insight. Is this a behavior he's likely to outgrow? Or is he going to continue to get more aggressive as he gets older? Is this a common problem in playgroups? If so, how do you handle it?
Thanks,
Beth, mom to older DD (8/01) and younger DD (10/06) and always missing Leah (4/22 - 5/1/05)