Temper tantrums and the so-called “terrible twos” are always a tricky time for parents, but this is a phase that all young children go through – and a phase that leaves parents frustrated and tired.
We cannot avoid this; instead, we should work towards embracing it as part of our child’s developmental phrase and coping with it.
Why do Tantrums Happen?
Tantrums tend to occur because children have little practice controlling, understanding, and recognizing their emotions – and this lack of experience can cause a temper outburst.
In addition, children of this age are beginning to learn how to communicate, but they are still struggling to express their desires, feelings, or needs. They may try to communicate with parents, only to need clarifcation. They are also likely to encounter emotions they cannot understand.
They throw a fit. How do they deal with their dissatisfaction? In a nutshell: they express their frustration or anger as tantrums.
How can you deal with them? Here are five tips to assist parents in dealing with temper tantrums:
- Keep your cool. When dealing with tantrums, the first thing parents should do is keep their composure. Losing your temper because your youngster has lost theirs will not help problems. It only aggravates matters.
Ignore the shouting, kicking, and stomping as much as possible and pretend nothing is wrong. Focus on controlling the situation to fnd out the problem and how to address it.
- Be understanding. When your child gets upset, he overreacts because he lacks experience handling emotions. Children, as brilliant as they are, are not little grown-ups. Consider their perspective and apply that insight to help them calm down.
- Be patient. Tantrum-throwing in your child will not go away overnight. If you understand this, you accept that you must live with them for a while before you can regulate them. Do not give up before you succeed. Always remember that you will lose control if you lose patience.
- Stand your ground. It will seem easier to give in when your child is wailing and failing. Yet, giving in once because of a tantrum thrown only tells your child to throw another tantrum the next time. After all, you might give in again.
To avoid this, be sure your child knows their limit by denying their demands when they throw tantrums.
- Be proactive rather than reactive. You can stop a tantrum before it starts. When children are hungry or tired, they are prone to throwing tantrums. Know your child’s needs and what triggers their tantrums. You can then deal with any discomforts they have and prevent a meltdown from occurring.
It is possible to handle your child’s tantrums and raise well-behaved children; you can try out the above steps consistently.
