Two- and 3-year-olds have many skills, but controlling their tempers is not one of them. Tantrums are common at this age because toddlers are becoming independent and developing their own wants, needs, and ideas. However, they are not yet able to express their wants and feelings with words. But they can learn.
Learn to express themselves in a different way is part of the growing process.
Triggers
Common triggers are, hunger, fatigue, and overstimulation. Observe the moments to understand what is causing the tantrum will help to prevent it to happen.
Strategies
When your child is calm, is the best time to talk with then. At this moment, try explore with him ways that him can communicate his feelings, desires, ideas in a positive way.
Teach them how to deal with their feelings in a healthy way. To practice ways to be calm, take deep breaths, blow bubbles, or count slowly. Over time and with practice, your child will learn how to calm themselves.
Kids learn from us how to behave. They observe our reaction to their actions. our reaction may be reinforce their behavior.
To help your child (and yourself) through the terrible twos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following:
Keep regular meal and sleep schedules. Less desirable behavior is more likely to happen when your child is tired or hungry.
Praise behaviors you approve of and ignore ones you want to discourage. You can value the good behavior with stars and when, for get things he wants, he have to accumulate some number of stars.
Don’t spank or hit, and try to avoid yelling. You want to model nonviolent behavior for your child.
Redirect or distract when you can. Point out something funny or interesting when your child starts to whine or misbehave.
Keep rules simple and offer brief explanations. For example, tell your child they have to hold your hand when they cross the street because you don’t want a car to hurt them.
Let your child have some control by offering a choice between two things. For example, you might say “Would you like to wear your blue sweater or yellow jacket today?”
Keep your toddler’s home environment safe. If you don’t want them getting into something, put it out of sight if you can.
Don’t give in. Set your limits and be consistent. If that means your child has a full-blown tantrum in the grocery store because you won’t buy a candy bar, simply remove your child from the situation and wait until things calm down. You won’t be the first parent to leave a full cart in a random aisle. If you have a "health behavior value system set, this is a good example to have establish that candies are reward for good behavior.
Stay calm. Your child will feed off your stress. Count to 10 or take a deep breath, whatever helps you to keep your cool.
Acknowledge feelings but don't reinforce undesired behavior. If your child is a tantrum mode, don't offer a gift if they stop the behavior. This will make the undesired behavior to reoccur every time he wants to control you. When tantrums do not accomplish anything for your child, they are less likely to
continue. Tantrum don't start overnight. Children are very observative. They know what situation you get more vulnerable. When your child is having a floor-thumping tantrum, the most important thing you can do is remain calm and wait it out. Do not let your child’s behavior cause you to lose control, too.
Post-Tantrum Reflection
if your child are having a hard time dealing with some situations, it is important that you help him develop new ways to deal with this situations when he is out of it.
Offer moments off rethinking of his actions using a story tell that reflets it.
Take time to listen their feelings and thoughts. Remember that eye contact is very important is this moments.
Reinforce every good behavior he develop.
Be consistent. Parents must be in the same page. Parents need to have conversation and mutually agree in the actions they will take in case of misbehavior. Duality in rules and values is very confusing for children. It will make then insecure.
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