My neice has a lovely little boy who is 4 years old, however his escalating behaviour problems where he shouts, throws things at hims mother, refuses to eat, throws food on the floor, demands what he wants etc etc has reduced her to despair. She has tried being firm, time out, rewards for good behaviour (that can be rare!) She has also contacted professionals for help but she seems to be left struggling to cope. I think an aspect of this is that he is a very bright little boy and may be under-stimulated, although he does have lots of toys and his mum does interact with him - behaviour permitting. We have also ruled out allergies, although he refuses to eat a lot of food. Any advice would be gratefully received

Hi there, My son is also 4 and hits me sometimes but mostly he hits others when they try to take something from him. I believe also that my son is not mentally stimulated enough and that nurseries and pre-schools don't really have the staff or skills to help teach some of the older children before they start school. I normally ignore my sons behaviour for as long as possible but if he doesn't stop i warn him that i'll put him in his bedroom if that doesn't work i simply take him to his bedroom and hold the door shut for 4 minutes. Usually hes crying and will say sorry with a little prompting. Good luck and i hope i could help a little.