Have you ever experienced the situation where suddenly your child starts to cry, yell and kick in the middle of a shopping mall? Have you ever been embarrassed by your child’s behavior? Have you ever wished to change the situation? Your child is developing a tantrum.
Kids’ temper changes significantly between a minute and another. It is a part of their development. They are common especially between the age of one year and three years. They do occur between 6 to 7 times in a week. They happen when your child is frustrated due to a physical, emotional and mental distress. Whatever is the situation; your child’s anger can become very intense and turn into a tantrum.
How to prevent tantrum?
Make a chart that shows situations which trigger tantrum. Try to avoid them. Distract your child or change the environment whenever you face such situations.
Offer options. Do not ask directly, let him take the decision.
Be consistent in your approach. Do not reward your child after he calms down. Talk to him and explain that what he did is bad and if he needs something he can tell you verbally.
Reward good behavior.
Plan ahead. Tell your child about your plans.
Listen to your child whenever he asks for something.
Watch for signs of stress. Try to avoid activities when your child is tired. Postpone them.
How to handle a tantrum?
If you are at home, ignore your child’s behavior totally. If you are in a public area, ignore him if you can. If he becomes aggressive, remove him from the situation even if you have to leave your shopping cart in the middle of the shop.
Stay calm and don’t shout at him.
Put him in a timeout, a quiet place to calm down. Don’t give him attention during the timeout.
Do not negotiate and don’t give up to his demands.
After the storm, talk to your child, hug him and show him how much you love him even if he had a tantrum.
Tantrums become fewer and fewer as your child gets bigger and master language skills. It will take time for your child to learn that tantrums won’t help him to get his way. Be consistent and keep calm. If you feel stressed out seek for a specialist opinion who will teach you how to control your child’s behavior and how to cope with these situations.