Children Temper Tantrums

Parents get irritated and frustrated when the kids through tantrums. When do it very often it becomes a cause of worry as well. But there is nothing to really worry if the kids through tantrums as with age they would get over it. This is their way of bringing out frustration and anger. Parents must learn a few techniques to deal with the kids when they through tantrums.

Here are a few ideas:

Seclusion

Kids through more tantrums when they know there is someone listening to them.  When through tantrums they should be sent to another room where they are all by themselves without company. They may not be willing to leave the room as they may have been playing their games or watching TV etc. But once sent to the room, they should be recalled after they have thoroughly calmed down.

Calming techniques

The child could be given a drink of water or juice to calm down. Also, they could be rocked forwards and backwards with soothing words like” you would feel much better now”. Even washing their face with cool water or wiping face with wash cloth will help.

Ignore tantrums

If the kid is not hurting him/herself then walking out of the room would be a good idea. The parent or carer should clearly say that they would return only after the child stops the tantrums. Pretending to  be busy will help to ignore the tantrums and there by the child will quieten

Distract

When the signs of tantrums emerge, the kid could be distracted into doing something else. In a little while the child might forget the problem that was causing the tantrum.

Let the child decide

Some kids don’t like to be told what to do. Instead if they are given a choice to choose between two things, they would make appropriate choice.

Cut down on privileges

The child should be told that with every tantrum they would loose a privilege like visiting their friend’s house the next day or watching their favourite show etc.

Extra chores for allowance

Those who do chores earn allowance, could be warned that they would need to do more chores to earn allowance if they threw up a tantrum.

If none of the above ideas worked and the traits don’t change, then a pediatrician, a counselor or a family therapist should be consulted.