My son is so assertive

My son is 4 years old. He is a sweet nice boy but with a strong character. If anything does not go his way, he gets quite upset and sometimes refuses to reconcile with his playmates. Sometimes I worry that he may develop into a very violent person. What do you advise me to do? Protais, Masaka Dear Protais,You have raised a rather common concern among parents with children around the age of your son. At that age children are starting to realise that there are other people in the world besides their parents and actually this is usually their first connection with society. Children may grow up knowing that they can have their way with everything and even using blackmail by screaming or crying in case this is not happening. It is therefore important to teach them that life has ups and downs and they cannot win every time or day. This should be done without ignoring their wants and desires but you also have to teach them about disappointments and sad feelings. They should be taught to look out for a brighter day or moment and not to sink into the present sad moment for ever. It is quite obvious that your child is at that age where children should be attending nursery school and therefore learning to live and play with other children. It would help to inform his teachers about his behavior so that they can also play their part in helping him deal with situations better. Besides school make it a point to always take him to parties where there are other children of his age who are not his school mates. This way he will get used to being around others without being a problem to them.