These extreme emotional responses are a child’s way to relieve resentment, helplessness, and disgust of some sort regarding their environment, feelings, or emotions. Although they cause a certain level of stress for both the kids and their parents, they can be tamed with time.
Answering calmingly and consistently to these stressful situations while understanding the child’s emotions is the best way to deal with tantrums.
In Order to Control Tantrums and Meltdowns, Determines the Reason First
Tantrums are one of the more popular manifestations for children in the age group of one to four that experience tiredness, stress, hunger or express their needs without being understood.
This type of outburst centers around an emotion, and can occur in any child, developmentally normal or otherwise. This is usually a result of a child being overloaded with stress or stimuli and can happen in any child regardless of their developmental stage.
Common Triggering Factors include
1. Lack of or interrupted sleep
2. Interruption in routine leading to physical discomfort or hunger
3. Poor and restricted mobility to speak
4. Measured attention and autonomy
5. Excessive annoyance or excitement
You have a better chance of finding a more effective strategy when you know what the triggers are for your child’s tantrums.
How To React When Things Get Tense?
1. Stay Relaxed and Collected
Your reaction drives the initial response. If you lose your cool, things can spiral out of control. Maintain your calm and refrain from shouting. Rather, use a soft and gentle register. That way, your kid learns emotional regulation.
2. Validate their Feelings
Tell your child that their feelings are completely valid. Even when your child’s behavior is way off the mark, words such as “I see you are sad” or “I see you’re frustrated” have the power to change the child’s perception of being ignored.
3. Set Clear and Firm Limits
Boundaries guarantee predictability which creates a sense of safety for children. Pushing boundaries becomes far easier when rules, consequences, and discipline is inconsistent. For the sake of avoiding reinforcing undesired behavior, do not give in to tantrums.
What Are Pro-Active Techniques For Avoiding Tantrums?
Often, the effort that goes into intervention will not yield the desired outcome.Tantrums can be reduced significantly when a child is helped with managing feelings before reaching a boiling point.
Some of the effective proactive techniques include:
Maintain day to day consistency: Children do best when there is structure in the set tasks for everyday activities. They tend to be more mentally at ease when they follow a schedule.
Provide Choices: Offering your child a selection of two options goes a long way. It allows them to feel as though they have a sense of control, thus, reducing some of the power tussles that might arise.
Utilize diversion tactics: Bringing attention to another toy or topic can stop a heightened tantrum from going further.
Assist constructive thinking: With the right support, even young children can learn to feel and manage setbacks or delays.
How to Build Emotional Intelligence?
Helping your child comprehend and identify his feelings in a day-to-day context develops and helps the child’s emotional intelligence. Thus working towards their overall development.
Teach vocabulary: Children can be encouraged to express their feelings and emotions like “I’m angry” or “I’m sad” in a healthier and vocal manner as opposed to acting upon it.
Model self control: Children replicate the actions of adults, therefore, make sure to show them how you calmly deal with tension and disappointment.
Prescribe books that highlight emotional issues: Storybooks are a great sources of learning.
Passed recognition can also motivate the child to exercise emotional expression where he/she is frustrated, “I value how you used words to command attach to emotions.”
It takes some time to grow awareness of feelings in a child, however it is beneficial in the long run.A meltdown is an emotional outburst typically caused by feeling overwhelmed, while tantrums are more goal-oriented.
Most children experience tantrums from ages two to three, and they usually end by four or five. While most children outgrow the behavior, some may struggle to self-regulate due to neurodevelopmental disabilities.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What distinguishes a meltdown from a tantrum?
Children’s tantrums are often goal-oriented—they achieve a set outcome. Tantrums can also be accompanied by holding one’s breath, sobbing, and other emotionally intense displays.
In contrast, a meltdown persists even after the requests are fulfilled. These require less emotional control than suppressed emotional turmoil.
How old do temper tantrums usually end?
Children’s tantrums taper off as they learn to manage emotions around four or five. While some children may continue to struggle with losing self-control due to neurodevelopmental disabilities, the majority of children will naturally outgrow it.
Should I Ignore a Tantrum My Child Is Having?
In this scenario, neglecting a child’s outburst can sometimes solve the situation. Provided the child is safe, an outburst from the child can be ignored as long as it is an attention seeking behavior or as a result of not getting something they wanted.
But it’s advised to never overlook the child’s capacity to hurt himself or others around him. In other cases, hovering nearby, providing gentle help, and allowing the child to express their feelings can assist.
When should I consider being a child psychologist?
If the child displays severe or frequent outbursts lasting longer than the 15 to 20 minute threshold.If the outbursts result in self-destructive behavior, harming the child or those around them. Highlighting the volatility and instabilities of previously established behavioral patterns.
If the child becomes unreasonably difficult to calm despite significant and sustained support. These scenarios and symptoms could indicate a child’s developmental or an emotional issue that requires the attention of a specialist.
To summarize
There are a number of scenarios where children exhibit emotional outbursts and tantrums. Rooting for your child actively engaging with robust feelings can happen if you display patience, consistency, and compassion.In case continuous problems arise regarding the same scenario do not hesitate to reach out for professional help.
