Hey all! I’ve been struggling with my 3 1/2 year old daughter. She is prone to tantrums and will lose her mind over the smallest things. I know this is typical behavior at her age, but I wanted to see if you all had any advice. Any recommendations for helping a toddler remain more consistently calm?
Yup, it’s a stage. Same with my daughter, they’re figuring out they want more control over their lives and it’s up to parents to give them enough to scratch the itch, but not go power hungry.
Using the youngster equivalent of a magician “force” is an awesome solution. Both choices you give them are acceptable to you, but they get to choose the best for them. Rather than “we’re having peas for dinner.”, “We can make either peas or carrots for dinner, which would you like more?”.
Also, redirecting when a tantrum is going on works wonders. My girl was having a total melt, and I just looked behind her and said “Is that a big hairy spider on the floor?”. Instant quiet as she turned to look. “Where daddy?”. “Oh, I think I saw it over beside your bed, hope it doesn’t stay here all night!”.
Some anxiety… “Oh no, (pointing at fluff) it was just a bit of fluff from the kitty, sure looked like a spider to me though!”. “Daddy, spiders have legs and eyes!”
And that was enough to get her past the moment. Kids hold on to tantrums with both hands and trying to pry them off just makes them double-down. But if you distract them they’ll go from an 11 to a 2.
YES. The distraction is key. Works so well!