This display of aggression is due to toddlers having limited language skills. When children are surrounded by adults and other children who are physically aggressive, they tend to think physical aggression is a part of everyday social .
Interactions and as a result of their environment they are at-risk of displaying what they are expose to. While on the other hand, children who live in an environment that does not tolerate physical aggression and rewards them with pro-social behavior are more likely to acquire other means of getting what they want. According to (Tremblay et, al.1999) the form of aggression and the way it is expressed change with age. Between 2 and 6 years, physical aggression gradually is replaced by verbal aggression. On average boys are more overtly aggressive than girls, a trend that appears in many cultures (Whiting & Edwards, 1988). The gender difference is due in part to biology. Androgens contribute to male's greater physical activity, which may increase their physical aggressive encounters (Collaer & Hines, I 995), (Berk, 2005). .
Environment plays a vital role in the shaping of a child's development. Environmental risk factors are those conditions outside the child that places them in jeopardy for poor developmental outcomes thus, the need for the use of the term at-risk. These at-risk characteristics include but are not limited to, living in poverty, violence, various experiences of maltreatment, unstable home conditions, drugs and alcohol, which can all lead to children having difficulty in forming healthy relationships with peers and adults.
Young children need consistency and stability in their environment in order for them to develop appropriately, a lack of consistency and stability plays a role in causing them to become at-risk. The environment plays a significant role in the development of a child's social-emotional competencies. Children need the opportunity to develop a close, trusting relationship of a safe and secure attachment with at least one adult.
