a) In more severe instances where the child is lying
on the floor crying, pounding fists on the wall, it
makes sense to take a step back. Remove yourself from
the scene and it does work for some children - it is
worth a try.
Allow your child to give vent to his or her frustrations.
Allow your child to cry it out until he or she regains
some control. Just make sure that the surroundings are
safe. If it is not, pick up your child and bring him
or her to a safer place. A physical release is just
what some children need.
b) If inappropriate words are used during an outburst,
take immediate action to nip such an episode in the
bud so that it doesn't happen again. Profanity at 2
or 3 is not helpful the child's development. It is also
important to analyze where did our child pick up such
language from - is it from us? Shouldn't we be doing
something about it then (?).
c) Decide on the amount of time you are comfortable
with for tantrums in family- controlled environment
such as home, car etc. Suppose you decide that 4 minutes
is good enough for the release of energy and anything
more will only worsen the tantrum, then in such situations
you could give your little one a hug and talk reassuringly
to him to end the tantrum.
d) If your child is the hitting types, then confine the hitting to inanimate objects such as the couch or any other safe objects. Strongly refrain your child from hitting parents or other animate objects such as pets to avoid any physical or emotional hurt.
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