Your kid’s temper tantrums can be some of the biggest challenges you’ll ever have to face as a parent. Some parents believe the adolescent years are the hardest, but parents who are still dealing with tantrums will certainly disagree. Dealing with temper tantrums can be especially difficult since your toddler will not be able to understand you like an adolescent child already can. Thus, there is also a form of communication barrier between you two, which makes it even harder for you to deal with your toddler’s tantrums.
Parenting experts share these tips on how to decode those tantrums and survive those tough toddler tantrum years.
Expect a certain amount of tantrums to occur.
There is no way for parents to skip the whole tantrums stage altogether. All parents can expect at least a certain amount of tantrums to occur at some point. Tantrums are most common among toddlers and little kids aged 3 to 5 since it is at this point that they will start exerting their independence, while you try to hold them back, fearing for their safety. These are often what cause the worst tantrums
Tantrums don’t equate to a negative attitude.
If your kid throws tantrums every now and then, that does not mean he is being disrespectful. It’s a natural part of being a kid. As a child, he doesn’t understand how the world works yet, so he also doesn’t understand why he can’t have everything he wants or why he sometimes has to do things he doesn’t want to do. You have to be with them through this confusing period; the last thing you should do is blame them.
Expect realistically
Don’t set unrealistic expectations for your child. Your expectations should always be at par with your kid’s developmental stage. You can’t expect a very young preschooler to just sit still and behave, but you can expect the same thing from, say, a pre-teen, who is already at the appropriate age when it comes to such kinds of behavior. Understanding your child’s developmental process will save you from a lot of stress and worries, as it will guide you as to what kind of behavior he or she is already cable of given his/her age.
Patience is everything.
When it comes to taming your kid’s temper tantrums, patience is your best friend. It takes time before your kids will understand or actually heed what you say. It may take you a couple, or even more, times to tell your child something before he actually gets it. So if you reprimand your child for some behavior, and you see him repeat that same behavior, don’t let yourself think that your child is intentionally going against your advice. Most of the time, it just means there is something he still does not understand, and with patience, you can keep on repeating the same instructions in order to cause a child’s behavior change.
Be a role model.
If your child sees you throw a temper tantrum at the restaurant when the server brought you the wrong food or at the supermarket when the cashier gave you the wrong change, then your child will see this as acceptable behavior. Thus, he will make no efforts masking his own temper tantrums. So if you want your kids to sport proper behavior, you should be a good role model for him to follow. Of all parenting tips, this has to be the most important.
Distract your child and give him options.
One of the main reasons why kids throw temper tantrums is that they don’t get what they want. Even as your child starts throwing a tantrum, that doesn’t make giving in to your child’s prodding okay. If you always let up and just let your child get his way, he might become spoiled in the long run. Instead, let them understand that they simply cannot have certain things by not giving these things to them despite a tantrum. The best way to stop the tantrums while not giving your child what he demands is to provide him with choices, options to choose from, or an alternative to what he is throwing a temper tantrum for.
