Temper
tantrums in children are normal. Every child will throw them and they pretty
much happen in every single household. Temper tantrums in children consist of
them whining, crying, hitting, kicking, and yelling. They usually happen with
children who are between the ages of one and three, but they can happen to
anyone at any age. According to
kidshealth.org (2015), tantrums are common in the child’s second year of life, the
time when language skills are just starting to develop. Children usually throw
temper tantrums in response to any frustration they might have. Usually the tantrum is in
response to something they want but don't end up getting. As the child ages and their
language skills increase, the parent or other caregiver should see a slight
decrease in temper tantrums thrown.
Preventing tantrums
Temper
tantrums can occur at home and in public. When happening in public it could
make the parent feel embarrassed, humiliated, or even ashamed by the way their
child is acting. Being able to prevent them from happening is one thing that is
a part of successful parenting. According to mayoclonic.org (2015), there really is not
an accurate way to prevent tantrums, but there is plenty that the parent can do
to encourage good behavior in their child. Some of these way include:
·
Being
consistent. What is meant by this is having a daily
routine of when things for your child should be done. Set aside times for eating, bathing, and napping. This will help your child understand and
expect when things are happening.
·
Praising
good behavior. Reward your child with something when they are behaving in an appropriate fashion. By doing this your child should learn
what is good and what is not good behavior. Rewarding this type of behavior will more than likely influence your child to repeat these same appropriate behaviors later on.
·
Letting
your child make their own choices. Instead of constantly
picking out what your child should wear for the day or eat in the morning, let them choose. Decide between a
few items and then let your child make the decision with what they feel like wearing or eating.
·
Avoiding
areas that can cause tantrums. Avoid toys that
could possibly be too difficult for your child to play with. If your child can’t figure out how something works
they are going to be more likely to throw a tantrum over it.
Strategies for survival
When
trying to prevent a tantrum is unsuccessful, the only thing the parent
can then do is to survive it. There are several ways
out there that parents and other caregivers can use to help survive their child’s vent. The website of parents.com (2017) provides us with a number of these ways. The first way is for the caregiver to keep their cool and deal with the situation in the easiest and calmest way possible. If you are out in public and your child decides to throw a tantrum it is best to pick them up and bring them to a safe place. You will want to talk to your child in a quiet, soothing voice and you do not want to try and reason with them. If nothing else works there is always the choice of walking away and letting the outburst happen. It is important though to not walk away or ignore your child if they are showing physical or aggressive actions.
Still
wanting to learn more with how you can survive the temper tantrums? Here is a quick
video that runs through a few things we talked about!
Texas DFPS. (2015, September 22). Dealing with Temper Tantrums. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej3PY2sC32w
References
Horsch,
Karen. (2017). 8 Temper Tantrum Survival
Strategies. Retrieved 10/7/2017, from http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/tantrum/8-temper-tantrum-survival-strategies/
Lyness,
D’Arcy. (2015). Temper Tantrums. Retrieved
10/7/2017, from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/tantrums.html#
Mayo
Clinic. (2015). Temper tantrums in
toddlers: How to keep the peace. Retrieved 10/7/2017, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/tantrum/art-20047845