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My daughter is only 1.5, but I am pretty sure this is our future. She is sweet and kind, lives to share, and more aggressive kids are already taking advantage of that.

Ugh - I can relate. M will be 3 in a few days and it makes me so upset when I see other kids just take something from her. She just looks on and doesn't seem bothered it but it makes me so upset for her. She's definitely more of the quiet, non-confrontational kind (just like me)

My LO was in a nanny share for the past year with her friend who is/was like your LO. OMG I felt like I had the worst kid in the beginning because her daughter is just the sweetest and totally non-confrontational.

Her mom would talk to her in the moment--you probably can't be with her at daycare or for every moment, but if my LO grabbed something from her that she wanted or pushed her, etc.--she'd say something right then and there to her, like "I know you really wanted to play with that toy and Other Kid took it away from you. Do you still want to play with it? You can tell her that you still want to play with the toy and maybe she can have it after you've had your turn."

She'd do this without scolding but just continuously correct. And she'd do little role plays with her (seriously). She would also model the behavior with her husband, just being assertive and standing for what you want without being aggressive.

Over the year I noticed her LO sticking up for herself. And this didn't change her personality--she is still the sweet and non-confrontational kid--but she will speak up for herself more. It just takes time.

Can you get her teachers on board? They could remind her to use her strong voice with pushy playmates.

This is me, still. In time I learned to speak up and I don't think anyone who knows me as an adult would call me a pushover, at all. But I've also learned to surround myself with people who won't take advantage of my "niceness" so to speak. Try not to worry, just be conscious of it.

I'd go one of two ways. I'd teach her to embrace it- that she doesn't deserve to feel sad, so if someone treats her inappropriately, she has the right to say, "no thank you, you may play with this when I am finished," -IF that is going to make her feel better, otherwise I'd teach her to be like, "whatever, I don't need to fight, I can have fun with any toy."

I like the nice kids/people, I think the only concern is that she doesn't deserve to have others making her feel bad, to me that's the only issue. So I'd help her find a way to embrace the choices she is making when dealing with it.

I'm not in the same boat but my heart hurt just imagining that. On one hand, maybe she really doesn't care enough to find it worthwhile to fight back. On the other hand, that still doesn't make it okay to be on the receiving end of the negative behavior!! No helpful advice here, but I feel for you. I do think though that you are giving her the verbal tools to know how to stand up for herself and, when the right time for her comes, she'll use them!

This is my son and he's nearly 5. I've told him it's ok to tell other children to stop bothering him or stop taking away toys, that if it's his turn, he is allowed to play with something, etc. I've also reminded him that we never retaliate with force and if things really get out of hand he should tell his teacher.

My DD is the same way. She's 3 now and she will at least now try to hold onto a toy if a kid tries to take it from her but she will usually lose out and then just stand there and cry. It's heart breaking, but I'd rather that than she try to hit the kid or get violent. My DH tried to teach her to yell at the kid "stop it!" (if she is being pushed/hit) or what to say depending on the situation, but then she turned on him and started using it against daddy whenever she didn't want him to do something like change her pajamas! Hahaha... So now I'm not sure but I think we keep trying and hope that she improves with age. It has improved from when she was smaller of course.