The Child Who Doesn’t Understand Personal Space...

[SunshineMama]

Do any of you have ideas concerning how to help a child learn about personal space? I have a 3.5 year old who is always wanting to touch, hang on, and stand an inch away from myself and all of the other children. This same child is always the one to also try to wrestle other kids, take toys, and occasionally hit others with his hands and objects as well. Needless to say, it is exhausting. I am constantly watching over and redirecting him and discussing personal space, and I have to give him 2-3 time outs a day (after redirection attempts and warning him) for hitting or taking toys from other children, even the 1 year olds.

I would like a better approach, as obviously the redirection and discussions are not working. Today I had to send him to play in a separate area by himself just to give myself and the other children a break from him. ideas?

[sharlan]

I wish I had the answer. My 5 yo grandson is just now learning "personal space". I should rephrase that, he totally understands someone entering his personal space, but not him entering their's.

The only thing that has worked for us is a sticker chart, one that is used and rewarded daily. His is broken down into 3 categories - English class, recess, and Mandarin class. If he has 3 happy faces at the end of the day, he can choose a prize from the treasure box ($1 trinkets) and is rewarded with a larger prize IF he gets 5 days in a row. After 6 wks, he rarely asks for the treasure box at night. He rarely gets a said face now.

If you can get the parents on board, you could have something like morning, lunch, and afternoon. You could reward with a sticker on the chart and the parents could reward with something else at home.

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

I have one just like that except that he is 5. We have had to have a lot of discussions with the parents.

We have had to get separate toys that "only the big kids" (4s and 5s) can play with. It lessons the amount of people around him and he is so absorbed in the "special toys" that he forgets to be all up in other people's space. ::

[Bookworm]

I was going to start this exact same thread. I have a DCG just turned 4 and it is getting out of hand. She really doesn't understand that what she is doing in inappropriate and that the other kids don't like it. They've begun to ostrasize her. She has speech issues so she constantly mimics the other kids and they hate that. She appears to be on the spectrum but we can't get mom to even talk to her pediatrician about it let alone get her tested. We get no help from mom. She blames it on the other kids picking on her. When we try to explain that she is the instigator, we are accused of ganging up on her and not liking DKG. The kicker, mom works with special needs children so she knows exactly what to look for. If you find a solution, please keep me in mind.

[countrymom]

I have a mom who works with special ed kids and she says that a hola hoop works. I think they make straps for it, but the start to understand the personal space better.

[Bookworm]

I have a mom who works with special ed kids and she says that a hola hoop works. I think they make straps for it, but the start to understand the personal space better.

With the straps, do you allow them to walk around with the hula hoop. I'm asking because outside time on the playground.

[MissAnn]

Do any of you have ideas concerning how to help a child learn about personal space? I have a 3.5 year old who is always wanting to touch, hang on, and stand an inch away from myself and all of the other children. This same child is always the one to also try to wrestle other kids, take toys, and occasionally hit others with his hands and objects as well. Needless to say, it is exhausting. I am constantly watching over and redirecting him and discussing personal space, and I have to give him 2-3 time outs a day (after redirection attempts and warning him) for hitting or taking toys from other children, even the 1 year olds.

I would like a better approach, as obviously the redirection and discussions are not working. Today I had to send him to play in a separate area by himself just to give myself and the other children a break from him. ideas?

This might not be exactly the same thing...but I had a 4 year old that hugged too much. Hugged too hard, hugged when other children didn't want it. I bought a book called Huggapotamus. Huggapotamus' friends got tired of the hugging. I can't rememeber the whole story....but it gave us something to talk about when he hugged to the point of annoyance....I could say...remember about huggapotamus? It helped a little.....was glad when he finally left for kindergarten. That pretty much solved it!

[Hunni Bee]

I have kids like this (and posted about them about a month ago). I think I just have a really touchy-feely group, but there are two boys who cannot keep their hands off each other. One of them really doesn't care, but the other one seems to need it. He even follows the other one to the bathroom. He will literally cry if he can't sit next to or play with the other boy at every activity. Even if he's sitting near him, but can't reach him or someone else is, he'll get upset.

Its kind of disturbing actually...but I'm a big personal space person.

[countrymom]

With the straps, do you allow them to walk around with the hula hoop. I'm asking because outside time on the playground.

I don't do this, its a dcm who works with kids. I know she said that its a big problem when they walk down the hallways so they wear it down the hallway. I'm not sure what she does outside.

[SunshineMama]

I have a dcm who is very rude about respecting my time. Shes always late, but I don't charge her fees bc shes a single mom and her child is great and he plays with my own dd while I get dinner ready and isn't really a nuisance.

But today is Halloween. Traffic is always bad so I feel she will be late. I have no candy to hand out and need to get to the store before the trick or treaters come. I text her and let her know that I need to leave my house at 5:00, and if she isn't going to be on time today, she needs to let me know so I can take my kids and dcb to the store quickly to get candy.

She never text me back. What do I do? If she's not here by 5:00 I need to leave, but I don't want to leave with her son without her permission. I don't want to be the house on the block with no Halloween candy for the kids, not to mention that I also have to get my kids ready for trick or treat. What should i do?

[SunshineMama]

OOPS meant to start a new thread