Dealing With Tantrums

Usually around 2 years old to about 4 years old, your child will go through some pretty nasty tantrums and meltdowns. They like to call them the “terrible twos,” but in reality, it is the “terrible toddler” stage as it will often last well past your child being two years old. Ultimately, your child will have fewer tantrums, but there are times where it feels like they will never end. This is one of those parenting items that you definitely won’t miss.

At the moment of the tantrum, it’s really easy to lose your temper. A child who has been screaming about something (usually quite unimportant) for the last 30 minutes wears on your nerves. If you feel like you’re losing it, definitely get out of the situation by stepping into another room and putting some headphones on for a couple of minutes or stepping outside for some fresh air. Get your composure before putting yourself back into the situation.

Once your head is right, you will be able to more easily deal with the situation. Tantrums are simply not a fun part of parenting, but they happen. Whether your child is overly tired, or simply can’t seem to calm themselves down, there are a few tricks that can help you to get them to finally stop screaming and stop worrying about whatever it is that set them off to start.

Get some water involved

For whatever reason, water seems to snap kids out of the trance that they’ve put themselves into. It sets something off in their brain to be able to stop focusing on the screaming and focusing on something else. Offer your child a glass of water if they can’t calm themselves down, and see if that pulls them out of it. Even if they say no, drawing a glass of water for them can help pull them out of it.

Water doesn’t have to be used as a beverage either to help them get out of it. Tell them that you’re going to get them in the bath or shower and turn the water on for that. Start to get them undressed and get them into the bath or shower. That will often be enough to get them pulled out of it.

Give them ice

If water is not doing it, or you’re worried about a huge mess, then ice is another option. Really anything that’s cold is a great way to get them to calm themselves down. Open the freezer and get a piece of ice out for them. Put some in a cup that they can grab out of and chew on. The coldness of the ice is something else that seems to pull them out of the trance.

If you don’t have ice, then you could use popsicles as well. Be warned that you should only resort to a popsicle when it’s a particularly long or hard tantrum. You don’t want to teach your child to think that they are getting rewarded for their tantrum as it will only lead to more of them. Instead, this is a last resort, but still a great option if you’ve tried other options already.

Change their location

Help them to change their location. If they’ve started their tantrum inside, then take them outside. Help them to get a little fresh air. If you don’t have a yard, but do have a balcony then that works as well. Moving locations may cause them to stop screaming about whatever got them started in the first place.

You can also simply move rooms, take them in the bathroom, or take them to the car as if you’re going somewhere. Don’t put them in the car if they’re still melting down as being stuck in the car with a screaming and crying toddler is worse than being inside with them. If they do calm down when you say you’ll drive with them somewhere though, then definitely follow through on that and take them in the car.

Ask a random question

Sometimes you may be able to pull your child out of it by asking a completely random question about things that they like or know. This would be a question that forces them to think about things that they don’t know the answer to. An example of a good question is something like: Do you think that horses can fly? For a young child, this forces them to think about an animal they know and then to think about that animal flying. This isn’t going to always work, but sometimes helping them to change what they are thinking about is enough.

Combine multiple suggestions

If a glass of water doesn’t work, then you can try to give them a cup of ice water. Offer to let them drink the water through a straw. The coldness of the water, plus the act of sucking it in through the straw may help them to calm down enough to stop screaming. While each of these items alone may not work, combining them might.

One of the more wild suggestions that I’ve heard, although not tried, is to put your child into the bath with a popsicle to help them calm down. The water, which they like from bath times, and the cold popsicle simply help them to completely change their scene. While this would be a last resort type of option, it’s certainly something that could be worth a shot if your child won’t calm down.

Conclusion

Helping a child to learn to calm themselves is important. Getting the screaming to stop will help to save your sanity. Sometimes you just have to be creative, have a lot of patience, and you’ll be able to get through it,