Toddler misbehaves around one particular child

My daughter is 2 and generally a very active, yet pleasant child to be around. She often shares with other kids at the park or mommy and me class, and doesn't have any major problems outside of a typical 2 year old. However, when she is around this one particular boy (3 1/2 y/o), she becomes a completely different child. She misbehaves, becomes aggressive, and doesn't listen. She's basically doing everything he is.  What should I do? I'm not sure if I should change her class, change parks, and just avoid this other child. Or, should I make her learn how to behave?

[pertykitty]

pinch the other kids, jk!! lol   i have a 2 yr old dd and i can see her behaviour change depending on the kids around.  i wouldnt give up HER park or HER classes.  there might always be a stinker kid that you have to deal with.  just keep encouraging her to have good behaviour and see if you can keep them more seperate i suppose.  oh the joys of the 2s!!! lol

[RockRose]

Kim,    I went to your profile before responding, as I always do.

You state your daughter doesn't have any major problems except for his one boy,  but her sleeping issues I think everyone would classify as "major problem".    Her only issue isn't this one 3 year old boy.  

Children come in all flavors,  and sometimes the most difficult in early ages turn out to be the best smartest adults.  

But reading through your profile,  I don't think you need to believe that your child is totally average except for this one single child.  Your daughter is headed for a little bit of difficulty on her own.

As a mother of 3 nearly grown sons,  that's not a bad thing.  Sometimes they turn out the best.  But don't just try to isolate behavior problems on other children,  when it's probably coming equally from your child.

[AnnieBrooke]

I think I would let my son do a little acting out, even if it meant him being rowdier than his normal behavior or if it was in fact because he was emulating another child, without trying to control it as long as he was not interfering with everyone's fun or hurting anyone.  Since he has no other kids around most of the time, I worry that he doesn't get to blow off steam in normal 3-year-old ways.  

If your daughter is an only child, she might just be suffering from an overload of messages that constrain her (it's easy for this to happen to a small child in an adults-only life).  If so, maybe this other kid's more outrageous actions are a breath of fresh air to her.  Maybe copying this other kid gives her an outlet to get away from her adult-run life for a little while.

That said, if she has sleep issues as well, I've been reading in the Dr. Sears book about a mom who let her child cry it out for a year, and thought she was doing the right thing, and now the kid has all kinds of other problems, and the author surmised that this just happened to be a child who needed that little extra.  Maybe your daughter is just someone who needs that little extra, and the acting out is a bid for attention.

Good luck, in any case.  I hope you work it out to your mutual satisfaction.