Let’s Talk About: Top 7 Temper Tantrum Tips 

Children, primarily toddlers, are at an age where they are learning about their emotions and how to regulate them. Temper Tantrums are a normal part of child development and you’re not alone in handling them! Many tantrums cannot be avoided but here are a few tips to remember when they happen!

 

1. Stay calm and know it will pass. The more you try and stop it, the worse it will get. When your child is already escalated, it is often too late to intervene. Their cortisol levels, the stress hormone, are so high that their brains are foggy and they are unable to process logic and are unable to rationalize. If you can, wait to discuss their emotions when they are calm. As long as your child is safe, if you need to, practice active ignoring and practice deep breathing!
2. Know your child’s triggers and pre plan for them. Maybe it’s sharing. Maybe its eating vegetables. Many times it is transitions. Make sure to let your child know in advance what to expect before it happens and make sure to give them the plan is for the day. Give reminders 10, 5, and 2 minutes before a transition. Let them know ahead of time what food to expect at dinner-time and what your expectations are of them to eat. Teach them and remind them what sharing is before they have a playdate.
3. Give children a means to express themselves without injuring them or you. I often suggest creating a pre-designated cool down area for your child with a 5-10 minute timer and items for them to self-regulate themselves with. You can also try giving them a punch bag or a pillow that they can yell into as loud as they want or hit as hard as they can.
4. Support them and let them know emotions are healthy to express in a safe, respectful, and responsible way. Teach them what different emotions are and how to use words or hand signals to share how they feel. Show by your own example how to behave.
5. Try to not focus on the tantrum and negative behaviors as much as the positive behaviors and when your child is not having a tantrum. Notice and praise your child when they behave appropriately!
6. Try to figure out the motivation of your child’s behavior before the tantrum begins. Are they tired? Hungry? Are they having a tantrum because they want power or attention or are they trying to avoid a task of some kind?
7. Distract your child when a tantrum is starting to erupt. Give them space and or fresh air. Show them something to deflect their attention, like an item from TantrumBox!

 

TantrumBox helps make dealing with tantrums easier in five easy steps! First, make sure the box is always hidden from your child. When your child is having a tantrum, take one item out of the box and present it to them as a distraction. Repeat this step during subsequent tantrums. Once all of the distractions in the box have been used, present the crayons and the box to your child. Lastly, refer to the 100 other ways to distract your child from a tantrum pamphlet in the box. Use these items to help calm and self regulate your child. I’d view these items as more of a play therapy tool rather than a toy. When a child can’t speak or express their emotions effectively, play is a child’s language and toys are a child’s words.

Since the box is hidden, the child shouldn’t use a tantrum to get another item out of the box. And the distraction tool shouldn’t even necessarily be the go to solution every time, just one tool in the toolbox. If used intermittently, the child won’t expect the items every time.

These items are not a reward for having a tantrum and may even be kept in the cool down area when the tantrum is done. During this brief time of distraction, you are giving your child a self regulation tool in order to stop a tantrum in its tracks and give yourself the opportunity to discuss the behavior with them. And then when you notice that your child is behaving well without a tantrum, self regulating, and positively expressing their emotions, you can consider giving one of the items back to them at a later time as a reinforcement tool to repeat that same favorable behavior again!

 

“IT IS OUR MISSION TO HELP YOU DEAL WITH YOUR CHILD’S TANTRUMS AND END EACH DAY WITH A SMILE!”

 

TantrumBox is the only product on the market of this kind and offers you a fun new solution to your child’s behavioral needs. They cost less than $20 (not including shipping) and will last you through several tantrums! Our box included fidgets, crayons, play-doh, a slinky, a whistle, a puzzle, Mars mud, a paper telescope, and so much more! All of the items have colors and textures to help self regulate their behavior, decrease stress, and increase tactile stimulation as a calming mechanism. And did I already mention each box also comes with 100 other ideas of how you can distract your child when they are having a temper tantrum?

 

As a mom of two toddlers and as a child play therapist, this product is magical to me! It is filled with so many resources, ideas, and distractions to help lesson the severity of temper tantrums and a product that every mom of young children should have on hand just in case a tantrum strikes!

 

And guess what? Their Kickstarter campaign has begun!! Make your pledge by clicking on this link!! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tantrumbox/tantrumbox-a-box-of-sensory-distractions-that-end

 

To find out more information, please visit http://tantrumbox.com and to buy your own click here http://tantrumbox.com/shop

 

To follow on Instagram, click here https://www.instagram.com/tantrumbox/ and Facebook click here https://www.facebook.com/TantrumBoxKids/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/TANTRUMBOX and Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/astantrumbox/

 

If you have a specific question about your child’s tantrum behavior, please leave a comment on the blog, on Facebook or Instragram, or by emailing me and I will try to answer it in an upcoming #AskDrKim segment on my new parenting podcast and talk show! To subscribe to my YouTube channel, please click here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeynDIIDbQyLW3Yu6uv0gEw?disable_polymer=true