6 Ways To Deal With Toddler Temper Tantrum
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Who would have known that the little bundle who couldn’t lift their own head would one day throw a fit and stomp right out of their room? The toddler stage is like a mini-teenage where the kids learn about their newfound independence of being able to hold a spoon or run, which they use to their benefit. So, while it might be difficult for you to keep your head when your toddler is having a meltdown about trivial things, you must remember, patience is the key. Here are some ways to manage toddler tantrums without losing your mind. Read on to know them all.
1. Choose Your Reactions
Children often test your patience and get on your nerves with everything they do. Sometimes they are just trying to get a reaction, but they might end up lying down in a busy shopping aisle. So no matter what you do, stay away from spanking, screaming, and scolding your child. It won’t make the situation any better, but it might urge them to grow a thick skin, so your scolding and screaming have no effect on them. The trick is to be super calm when they are having a meltdown and let them express themselves in their own way. Then, once they are done throwing a tantrum, sit with them and talk it out like a family.
2. Don’t Give Up
The worst thing you can do to a child is giving up on them. Children are experts at mind games and want you to give up on them, so it’s easier for them to misbehave. But please don’t take that bait. They will try every trick in the book to distress you, embarrass you and test your patience, but you need to keep calm. If it helps, call your parents who will tell you how you were when you were a toddler. This will instill new found respect for your parents, and the ability to parent your kids.
3. Have Pep Talks
Don’t ever underestimate the power of pep talks with your little one. This might not work when the tantrum is at its peak, but when your little monster cools down, this is when you need to load the pep talk gun and fire it. Sadly it’s not a one-time solution, but if you have one-on-one talks like these every day, your child will understand what is acceptable and what is not. Make sure you end these pep talks with kisses and hugs. Also, don’t be preachy and say ‘ I told you so’ when you talk to your kids. Otherwise, this will be something they will dread more than anything. Simply maintain eye contact, explain to your kid what is expected of them, and cut them slack when indoors.
Also, don’t wait for them to do something to give them a pep talk. You can have great talking sessions, get them to what they are up to, what goes on the little one’s mind, and even teach them new things to put their time to good use.
4. Distract Them
This is a great tool to work with your toddler, but sadly they will outsmart this soon. However, once your little one is having an outburst, distract them by saying something that will calm them down. It can be playing a game or telling them a story that has a moral value to the situation, or anything that will distract them well enough to forget that they were throwing a tantrum.
5. Avoid Triggers
Parenthood doesn’t allow you to read minds, so something that might be straightforward for you might trigger your little one to lean on the naughtier side. Situations like hunger, crowd, lack of sleep, and loud music push buttons and give horns to your little angel. So you must keep calm and don’t push your child into things they are uncomfortable with.
6. Give Space To Your Child
Children are mostly over-reactive, and their impulsive behavior leads to tantrum outbursts. They mainly lack self-gratification, and once they develop this emotion, it will help them realize such behavior was not needed in the first place. This is a self-taught emotion, so your child needs space to learn this and get a hold of their impulsive reactions.
Children are by default naughty and are always on the mission to explore and experiment with everything around them. While it was easier for you when your little one would sit where you placed them, that age doesn’t last long. Now your little toddler is in full rebellion mode and cries and has a meltdown at everything. Patience might be hard to hold on to, but screaming or punishing them never bears good results. So, do you have a unique technique to outsmart your tantrum throwing child? Let us know in the comments section!
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