Control Your Toddler Tantrums With Understanding And Patience

Imagine your “normally-calm” child lying down in the centre of the mall and screaming till the walls comes down? This can be extremely embarrassing and frustrating for a parent. But you should not take them as a disastrous incident and begin yelling yourself. Why don’t you make this an opportunity to educate your child and inculcate calmness and patience in him or her instead?

Let us find the reasons for tantrums:

While screaming, whining, hitting and kicking, the child can turn blue in the face holding breath. Mostly temper tantrums are a normal part of the growth pattern of children. These tantrums occur between 1 to 3 years of age and their occurrence is purely based on trigger factors. This is an appeal that the child is frustrated and angry and is letting out emotion. The tantrums are frequently because of hunger, discomfort or tiredness. It may also be because the kids want something that they are being denied.

How to deal with a toddler tantrum?

1. Firstly, we need to react appropriately in front of our child. Kids mock behaviour of the people they see around themselves. There is no doubt that we make mistakes and lose our temper because tantrums are stressful situations. But keep in mind that your outburst will decide how the child will regulate emotion.
2. Kids can throw a tantrum if they are sleepy, if they spill milk, if they are not allowed to pick food stuff from the floor to eat. They can throw a tantrum anytime but we should not invalidate their feelings because the situation is very real to the child and it matters gravely to him. It’s not a silly issue for the child. Tell him you understand his feelings and acknowledge it. It may surprise you but they will calm down after a while.
3. The tantrum is not a personal attack at you. You haven’t done anything wrong; the child is expressing extreme emotion and it is normal childhood behaviour.
4. Never laugh or make fun of your child. This can trigger a fierce angry reaction. This will prompt your child to turn away from you when he is angry or upset. You need to befriend your child no matter how silly the reason is and talk to him when he calms down. Validate his emotion with your support and love.
5. The most important thing is not to turn your back when the child is yelling because this is the time when he is screaming out for his parent’s support. You can’t abandon him when he wants to be near you the most. Maintain a distance, but stay around to keep an eye on the toddler so that he can see you. In this manner, you will make him see you are not agreeable to the behaviour but are available for him.

Do not show voluble emotion at any time because your child is constantly looking at you. The toddler will soon start to copy your outburst and make it a part of their everyday behaviour.  

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