12 Best Ways To Deal With Kid’s Tantrum
I’m sure being parents we all have struggled with kid’s tantrum at some point of time, though it’s not that hard to deal with it, as I discuss some of the best ways to deal with it.
Our children often go through phases of emotional outburst, when they lose control over their emotions, though it is just a part of the learning process as kid’s meltdowns is a very normal behavior.
As children grow, they discover new emotions. These emotions develop over the time based on their social interactions and cultural environment.
As a parent we always worried about kid’s tantrum in the form of throwing toys, screaming, lying on the floor, hitting things and stubbornness.
Occurs mainly in 7-8 years old children.
It is a challenging task for parents to handle little one’s tantrum especially when it happens in public, it becomes a very embarrassing situation, but it can be easily controlled by patience and applying creative approach towards it.
But before that first, we need to understand
What triggers kid’s tantrum?
1. Anger – Is simply explained as a situation, when a child expresses a strong desire for a toy or cookie and when they are denied from it, it results in anger followed by a feeling of injustice and frustration.
2. Anxiety – Anxiety comes to play when a child goes through difficult times like trauma and stressful situations like when they get neglected.
3. Autism – When children are unable to express their feeling because of lack of communication or problem with understanding language caused by autism.
4. ADHD – Children with ADHD have a hard time controlling their activities (hyperactivity, impulsive and inattentive) which make them feel frustrated and angry.
5. Learning disorder – Some children face difficulties in basic learning skills like reading, writing and problems of math, which can trigger an emotional outburst.
Consequences of kid’s tantrum and meltdown
- They can hurt themselves or others
- The child may develop the wrong habit of getting anything by creating tantrum drama
- Embarrassment for parents in public places
- Can lead to a stressful environment at home
- Can make learning and school life difficult
Strategy to deal with kid’s tantrums
First of all, you yourself calm down don’t ask them for explanation for their behavior, don’t send them to their room to calm down, don’t spank or yell child as it won’t help when child is overwhelmed by emotions and using force will create a negative impact on children about their parents, so avoid any power struggle.
Don’t surrender before kids by giving them what has been denied; else it will create an impression before them that they can get anything from you by their tantrums drama.
Try to distract kids with other interesting activities, like by giving her favorite food, ask them to help you with daily chores, engaging them in some craft or creative activities.
Kid Image: Arden on flickr
How to deal with kid’s tantrum?
Here’s the list of some of the best ways to calm down little one’s
1. Taking a deep breath and relax
Encourage your child to take a deep breath and count from 1-10, it will help them to calm and relax their mind. Deep breathing oxygenate mind which helps in reducing anxiety levels and calm down the tantrum.
2. Drinking water
Sometimes kid’s tantrums can be triggered by dehydration, giving a cold glass of water can be easy calm down technique.
3. Drawing and painting
Inspire your little ones to engage in creative activities like drawing and painting which can divert their minds from tantrums, it allows them to express their emotions by drawing or painting.
4. Playing music or singing
Music can be a very effective tool for healing little minds. Play your kid’s favorite song and sing along with them, it will help to relax their emotional outbursts and return to the normal state of mind.
5. Jumping on trampoline
Physical activities like jumping on trampoline or dancing improve blood circulation in their bodies and help to calm down the tantrum. Fun activities like jumping on a trampoline are always good for the child’s body and mind.
6. Doing simple yoga poses
Doing some simple yoga poses is another physical activity that calms down body and mind at the same time. Trying some simple yoga poses like – Tree pose, downward-facing dog pose, and warrior pose is very beneficial to deal with kid’s tantrums.
7. Taking a cold shower
Taking a cold shower releases endorphin hormones in the brain which reduces stress levels and helps to calm down aggressive emotions.
8. Going for a walk or running
Going out for a walk to the neighborhood or a park is also a good technique to calm down their emotions as they get fresh air which helps them to go back to their natural rhythm.
9. Writing a letter or stories
As Kids love stories, so they can be encouraged to write a story or letter to bring out their emotions, giving them words to express their feelings on paper which give wings to their creativity and calm down their emotions at the same time.
10. Give a hug
Kids have a very emotional connection with parents, by giving a hug strengthens the emotional bond with kids and they feel calm.
11. Playing with the favorite pet
This technique involves using pets to divert the child’s mind from the tantrum, as they love to play with their favorite pet which allows them to calm down and leave the aggressive emotions behind.
12. Laughter
One of the best calm down technique is laughter, as it helps to break down the tension and release the negative emotions in kids. Tantrum kids can be made laugh by making faces, sharing some funny images and jokes, put on their favorite cartoon shows.
To sum up the things, Kid’s tantrum is a very normal emotion for any child, it can be easily managed by applying these simple ways. Children just need your love and support in this phase of mental development which they are going through and tantrums are just a part of it.
Share your stories in comments. Your comments are always welcome and please share the post with family and friends. Also, check out my post about life skills every child should know.
