Tantrums!

[MumofT185]

What are your best tips for responding to a child having a trantrum?

Bonus points for how to handle this in public!

Thanks

[Babypigeon Community Ambassador]

My little one is still young but gets very angry if she can't have what she wants or kicks off If I'm putting her in the pram it can he embarrassing but I've learnt to not worry about others and to just find out what's the matter or to deal with the situation.

How old are we talking for you? Although for me it's the same principle I would apply that I stay calm I go to their level (height wise) talk to them find out the real reason for the tantrum. If it's just coz they can't have what they want I'd just explain why. The main thing is to never raise your voice you can use a different tone so they know you mean business and again when in public don't worry about others around you.

Hope that helps xx

[Penny-AP]

Hi,

Tantrums in young children are always difficult to deal with and understand why they happen. The most important thing to remember is that often your child is unable to help the tantrum or control how they are feeling at that time. Try to keep calm yourself, if possible try and distract to something else if you catch it early! Try not to give in, in a bid to end the tantrum early. Ignore all the looks from strangers - they forget that we've all been there!

Think about whether it's a good time to go to the shops? Are they likely to be hungry (take snacks), tired (wait until after a nap), bored (take something to keep them occupied), lets face it shopping trips for children are never fun! You could take along their own personal shopping items - with drawings of the items they need to tick off, it will help give them something to do. Lots of praise and reward for the small achievements and little things they do/say.

Always offer a cuddle afterward the tantrum, children need to know they are still loved, and if possible ask them what happened and what made them feel like that (depending on level of understanding and speech).

There are some really good tips on NHS Choices website at nhs.uk/ (type in tantrums in the search bar) and also on essentialparent.com/

Hope this helps, good luck.