Effective Ways to Deal with Temper Tantrums
Temper tantrums are a normal part of growing up, but the way parents handle the events helps determine how long kids how long kids have them. Infants as young as 6 months old throw tantrums, according to Sanjay Shah, physician at the Leitchfield Pediatric Clinic. Children typically go through a growth phase between 1 and 3 years old and throw tantrums to show frustration and anger. They occasionally stretch the tantrum period until adolescence, however, when adults have trouble handling the fits of temper. Parents learn to handle temper tantrums effectively by developing personal strategies.
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Tantrum Causes
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Family life specialists R.J. Fetsch and B. Jacobson reporting for the Colorado State University Extension note that 23 to 83 percent of all 2- to 4-year-olds throw an occasional temper tantrum that might include a range of behaviors, like holding breath, screaming and kicking. Causes of the tantrums include lack of sleep or food, inconsistent discipline, lack of attention, overly protective or neglectful parenting, sibling rivalry or speech problems. Sick children also sometimes throw tantrums. The Akron Children's Hospital recommends minimizing or eliminating the causes of tantrums to help avoid and reduce their frequency.
Parent Roles
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Parents hold the key to handling temper tantrums effectively or elevating the emotional outburst into a major event. Effective ways to deal with temper tantrums include modeling appropriate behavior and distracting or redirecting the child before or immediately when the tantrum happens, according to the Child Welfare League of America. The CWLA suggests allowing the child an opportunity to change the behavior after a tantrum. Setting clear rules for acceptable behavior and using timeouts when kids lose control during a tantrum also work well for many parents in reducing the number of emotional outbursts.
Age-Appropriate Handling
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Handling temper displays in a way that matches the child's age and ability to understand helps reduce the number of tantrums. Investigating the reason for bad behavior avoids escalating the tantrum into a major event, according to Fetsch and Jacobson. Setting clear limits for anger management and appropriate behavior also teaches children how to manage emotions. A calm response from adults, according to Akron Children's Hospital, helps children deal with anger and shows them how to react with appropriate intensity. Learning to manage emotions and feelings takes practice and helpful guidance from parents.
Special Needs Kids
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Children with special needs also feel frustration, anger, and boredom and throw temper tantrums, but problems processing directions or an inability to control emotions or physical actions create additional difficulties in defusing tantrums. Special needs kids also need clear rules that combine consistent discipline with positive encouragement. Discussing tantrum management with a pediatrician, special education teachers and counselors to develop a temper-management plan offers the best approach when tantrums become a problem.
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