Preventing Tantrums |
By Caitlin Bootsma It happened again this morning. “I watching?”, my almost-three year old asked me about watching TV at 9 a.m. “No”, I replied, “We don’t watch TV in the morning, it’s time to play.” And then, it started. “YES! Watch my show! It is time for WATCHING, Mama!” A tantrum was beginning to surface; I could see my son’s face begin to match the color of his red hair. If this were last summer, when I was new to the whole tantrums thing, I probably would have continued to just tell him no repeatedly. Or (I must admit) on the rare occasion I may have given in because I just could not take the screaming hysterics one more time that day. Now, with a little more education on the subject, and a second child reaching the tantrum stage, I’ve discovered that the right strategy can often prevent tantrums. I say often because, let’s admit it, toddlers are sometimes just going to get upset regardless of what we do! These brain-based techniques for staving off tantrums have proven effective on multiple occasions and are definitely worth a try! When you begin to notice the signs of a coming tantrum, try:
Give it a try! Each child is different, but studies show that these strategies work. And, in the case of my sons, a lot of tantrums have been avoided because they’ve understood that while the answer is still “no”, I love and empathize with them. |
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