Last night our toddler had a temper tantrum, these are hard for me to deal with because I get caught up in it and frustrated. Frustration soon leads to me getting upset then I really have to work on keeping my voice down and remaining calm. Did you know that yelling will only make the problem worse? I’ve tried it, bad technique, does nothing to stop the temper tantrum.
The most effective strategy to quell a toddler temper tantrum starts with you… be calm and take deep breaths… relax. Our main source of toddler discipline is the use of timeouts (here is more information on stopping toddler tantrums).
Toddler Timeouts for Temper Tantrums
We use a 1 minute timeout for each year of the toddler. So a 3 year old gets 3 minutes. I think there are a couple of important things with timeouts. First, they have to be sitting somewhere where they cannot touch anything. This isn’t time for play, it’s time to allow the toddler to calm down. Giving them something fun to do will only set yourself up for more tantrums. Why? Because you are rewarding the toddlers behavior.
Second, set a timer. Let the toddler know that when the timer goes off the timeout is over but they have to wait until you come and get them. MAKE SURE YOU DO… this is a crucial bonding moment for you. I always crouch down to eye level (very important!) and ask if they know why they are in time out. I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. Your toddler need to know why they have been put into time out or you have just wasted your time and theirs.
Once you are sure they know why they had to sit alone for a time out HUG THEM and tell the that you love them. The main thing a toddler wants is love and you have to make sure they feel it! (here is more detailed information on how to use a toddler timeout)
