Posted by It was in the grocery isle that your cute baby got possessed by some demon and the tantrum that ensued was horrible. Or maybe it was the restaurant, the shopping complex, or a dinner with friends during which your toddler had an epic meltdown, and naturally, you are feeling very concerned about how to deter these destressing and embarrassing episodes.
The challenge of disciplining
You must first get into the world of the toddler for to understand why they are feeling so. They are still growing and learning about the world. Their emotional development is still limited, so when they are frustrated, overwhelmed etc., they then have a meltdown, as they do not know how to express themselves otherwise.
There are many things that tend to accompany the tantrums, including biting, screaming, crying with tears at times. They are also trying to push at the limits of the world around them, so they might not stop when you ask them to. Or might climb out of their crib.
Toddlers are therefore a safety risk, and parents then need to be on the guard for lest they hurt themselves, meriting then a visit to the Child specialist in Lahore. Therefore, you need to start the task of disciplining keeping in mind these limitations.
At this age, children are at the prime time of learning. So, if you approach disciplining in the correct way, you can then make great progress.
Acknowledge the good behavior
It is important that you acknowledge their good behavior, so it gets reinforced in their minds. Moreover, positive reaction also helps in encouraging the child.
Change the location
You also want to run from the public space when your toddler throws a tantrum, and that is a good practice. Changing the location can help in distracting the child, and they might then relent from the meltdown.
When you move them to another place, they also become calmer, and tend to forget what was causing the problem to begin with.
Give them a choice
We all want to be in control, so, when your toddler is made to feel hapless and choiceless, they will turn to tantrums. An effective way to curb this is by giving them a choice. Let them pick between thing A and thing B; anything more, and they will feel overwhelmed, and it will be counter intuitive.
For example, if they are acting out when it comes to food, ask them they’d like an orange or a banana. Similarly, if they want to play ball or walk etc. This makes them feel in control and they comply as a result.
Talk to them in their language
For to discipline the toddler, you cannot use rationality and logic. You need to speak at their level. In this endeavor, you first should lead by example. Toddlers emulate their parents, and thus, you need not only act like their role model, but if you want them to do something, like put their toys away, you need to show them this by example.
Furthermore, eye contact helps. When you are talking to them, you should look into their eyes, and then talk to them in clear and crisp language. You also then have to show the command in action. Moreover, reinforcing helps; whenever they forget their lesson, simply repeat it rather than getting frustrated with them.
Down time
When they are on the emotional high, it works to give them a breathing space, so that they can compose themselves. They might need some help with the calming down, so do things that enable peace.
For example, take them in your lap and lull them, or sing them a lullaby, or you can also leave them in a room for some alone time. However, make sure they are safe, else they might hurt themselves, meriting a visit to the Child specialist in Islamabad then.