When it comes to temper tantrums, for most of us, the priority is figuring out a way to get it to stop ASAP. There are many ways of avoiding tantrums, but this article will provide a couple of strategies that will help stop a temper tantrum that is already in full effect!
First off, realize that there is no amount of logic that is going to stop your child from screaming. You cannot reason yourself out of this one. They are having an extreme emotional response and unless you can change that state for them, they will continue to claw at the exposed emotional nerve.
A great way of changing the emotional state of anyone (this works for the adult as well as the child) is to change your body posture. For you - take a deep breathe, pull your shoulders back, even smile - regardless of how you feel, it will change your emotional state.
Now that you are in a better mental state, it is time to work on your child's mental state. The fastest way of doing this is to use some sort of game or strange set of questions. Really odd questions will often interrupt your child's most intense tantrums. Ask them what aliens have for breakfast. Ask them why their mother/brother/sister/father has purple and green hair today. You get the idea. Just interrupt them a bit, then get them to look at the ceiling and count something, or take a deep breathe. Smile at them and see if they don't smile back. Make it something strange and fun for them.
Great job! You are on your way to a happier shopping trip (or wherever you are when the tantrum happens). Just try and avoid bringing up the tantrum issue that set everything off. It is best to let the emotions calm down a bit more before you go in and educate them on a more appropriate way of expressing their feelings.
First off, realize that there is no amount of logic that is going to stop your child from screaming. You cannot reason yourself out of this one. They are having an extreme emotional response and unless you can change that state for them, they will continue to claw at the exposed emotional nerve.
A great way of changing the emotional state of anyone (this works for the adult as well as the child) is to change your body posture. For you - take a deep breathe, pull your shoulders back, even smile - regardless of how you feel, it will change your emotional state.
Now that you are in a better mental state, it is time to work on your child's mental state. The fastest way of doing this is to use some sort of game or strange set of questions. Really odd questions will often interrupt your child's most intense tantrums. Ask them what aliens have for breakfast. Ask them why their mother/brother/sister/father has purple and green hair today. You get the idea. Just interrupt them a bit, then get them to look at the ceiling and count something, or take a deep breathe. Smile at them and see if they don't smile back. Make it something strange and fun for them.
Great job! You are on your way to a happier shopping trip (or wherever you are when the tantrum happens). Just try and avoid bringing up the tantrum issue that set everything off. It is best to let the emotions calm down a bit more before you go in and educate them on a more appropriate way of expressing their feelings.
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Dealing with childrens temper tantrums is never fun. But there are more strategies and systems than listed above. Try this resource too: Contorlling Temper Tantrums
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