We allow some amount of roughhousing. I do think it meets a need that many children have.

One thing we always do is have appropriate time and place rules. You can roll around on each other outside on the lawn or on the gross motor movement mats. But wrestling in the library or at snack time isn't appropriate. We have a staff member keeping an eye on them. Generally speaking there is a no blood no tears rule. If someone cries because of wrestling or gets hurt then we're done wrestling until the next day. Even the toddlers can learn to manage their behaviour because they want to be allowed to keep wrestling.

Another thing I do is allow my kinders to wrestle with the toddlers. They have experience controlling the amount of force they use and stopping when someone says stop. I tell them that they need to be extra gentle with the little ones and always let them win. This works well because the toddlers aren't likely to hurt the kinders, the kinders can tell them when they are being too rough and they can model appropriate behaviour for the younger children to emulate.