Tips on Toddler Tantrums

Well here I am, offering my own personal experience on toddlers.

I am no profession but I am real. I use my own methods when they work and ask for help when they don't. So here I go with helping you with toddler tantrums.



So you know a bit about me, I am mum of 3 children. A 7yo and 20month old daughters, and a 6 month old son. My 7yo is ADD and very much a handful and had many many toddler tantrums, and my 20month, well, I'm sure you can all guess what her tantrums are like, lol. My 20month has had constant ear infections since she was 5 months old, so has a touch of hearing loss and is off to get grommets within the coming months.



Though talking to friends and professionals I have found that there are many different ways of dealing with toddler tantrums.

Toddlers are constantly needing and wanting your attention and are very full on. If they can't get what they want, then this is when you will know about it.



Some of the things that I have used to calm down my children are:



Ignoring - I know this may seem wrong, but children are after attention, if you give them more attention when they are misbehaving then they are going to continue to misbehave as they get more out of you, therefore more tantrums. If you ignore the behaviour of your child they are less likely to continue as they aren't getting what they wanted. Don't forget to praise your children whenever they are being well bahaved.



Breathing - Sometimes with children it can help to get down to their level and get them to copy your breathing patterns. This not only calms them down, it also distracts them from what they were throwing a tantrum about.



Timeout - From about 18 months old it is considered okay to put your child in time out. I tried this for a short period with my current toddler. When I had our son, she was very jealous. She used to constantly bite and pinch me as she didn't have my constant attention anymore. I always made sure I gave her as much attention as I could. If I was feeding the baby, I would have her sit beside me and read a book with her too so she felt wanted, but, if this didn't work, which sometimes didn't and I was getting covered in bite marks, I would place her in her cot for an amount of time (usually 2 minutes) and tell her that it is naughty to bite mummy and that it hurt. The cot is safest for a toddler as there is nothing they can really hurt themselves on and also they don't really understand the meaning of don't move at 18months old so they can't get out either.



Distraction - I found distraction the best way to end most tantrums with my children. I never gave into them and gave them what they were throwing their tantrum over, but I would try to show them a toy or book and look really interested in it to make them realise that mummy is enjoying that toy so they will too. Or I would go outside and start playing with some of their toys out there. One thing to remember though is that once you have distracted them, don't walk away straight away, show them that you are interested in them and what they are doing.



Smacking is not something I use with my children, I don't believe it is right as they grow up being taught that it is not okay to smack others, so it would be confusing for them if we did it to them.



Thank you for reading and I hope it has helped.