Course Content Available 15 October 2026

When young children bite, hit, kick, push, grab toys or exclude other children, we often ask:

“How do I stop this behaviour?”

But an equally important question is:

“Why is this behaviour happening, and what skill does this child still need to develop?”

In this course, we explore the difference between age-appropriate challenging behaviour and behaviour that becomes concerning. We look at why young children behave in certain ways and how development, emotions and skills such as impulse control and self-regulation influence their behaviour.

An important principle of this course is that we should be careful about labelling a young child as “the bully.” Instead, we focus on the behaviour:

“This child is displaying behaviour that is hurting another child.”

Behaviour can be addressed and, with the right support and guidance, new skills can be learned