Helping Toddlers Handle Tantrums
Parents and early childhood education teachers have all been there: watching a toddler suddenly melt to tears over the toy they can’t have, the fact that their sandwich was cut ‘wrong’, or at the mention of coming inside from playtime. Tantrums are a normal part of early childhood development, but knowing how to effectively handle them makes all the difference. Whether at home or in a childcare or daycare setting, understanding tantrums can help make for a calmer and more productive interaction when the next meltdown threatens to hit.
Our educators here at Lily Pad Childcare patiently resolve and prevent tantrums from their sweet students. Come for a tour and see for yourself how our teachers navigate meltdowns and patiently help children learn and grow every day.
Why Do Toddlers Have Tantrums?
Toddlers are not just trying to drive adults to their wits end. They are in a stage of rapid growth in their language, motor skills, and independence. Tantrums often occur when their big emotions outpace their ability to communicate effectively. The American Academy of Pediatrics confirms this, noting that tantrums are a normal part of emotional development and traditionally peak between the ages of 1 and 3.
Call us up here at Lily Pad Childcare and chat with our early childhood education professionals about how we manage tantrums within the classroom. We would be happy to share our tips and tricks and would love to have your family join us– we will weather the toddler tantrums together!
Strategies for Adults
Wondering how you can help with your toddler’s tantrums? Whether in childcare, daycare, or at home, there are an abundance of research-backed strategies to help navigate and work through meltdowns with your little one.
1. Keep Yourself Calm
Children are like little sponges, soaking up the energy of those around them–especially their adults. When you stay calm, you model emotional regulation for them. While it might be years in the making, modeling appropriate behavior when responding to disappointment and conflict lays a solid foundation for your little one as they grow through early childhood education and beyond. A soothing voice and gentle body language works wonders at de-escalating a meltdown.
Here at Lily Pad Childcare we work hard to bring calm to our classrooms and our educators do a lovely job at doing so. Call today to see how we can bring the calm to your daily life by joining us here at Lily Pad!
2. Naming Feelings
Research presented by Child Mind Institute shows that validating feelings reduces their intensity and supports long term emotional development. Labeling emotions also helps toddlers build their vocabulary, eventually helping them to say how they feel rather than meltdown from it. A response to an outburst can look something like this: “I see that you are upset because you want that toy. That is frustrating.”
Being able to communicate your feelings and opinions is a major part of growth and development. Here at Lily Pad Childcare, we will take the time to work with our students and help them put words to their feelings and opinions, supporting them not just within their early childhood education, but for life as they grow, too. Call today to schedule a tour and ask about our classroom openings.
3. Offer Choices
Providing limited and simple choices that you as the adult are comfortable with can help toddlers feel as if they have some control over their situation. For example, when transitioning out of bathtime, asking “Would you like to dry off with the red towel or the blue towel?” removes the question of whether bathtime is over and switches the focus to an interesting decision that they get to make.
Whether beginning in childcare, daycare, or at home, we want children to grow up to be wise, independent and empowered adults. We just also need them to come in from playtime on the playground…even when they don’t want to. Offering choices supports their want for independence that can be nurtured–over time–into maturity. Call us up here at Lily Pad Childcare and ask about how we support our students on their slow path to independence.
4. The Power of Distraction
Redirection to another toy, activity, or even to an alternative environment can be a very effective strategy for toddlers under 3. Children of this age have a shorter attention span and (if you help make it sound exciting) a general appreciation for anything different to what they have or are doing. Despite the fact that this tool expires with the development and growth of a toddler out of this stage, it is a powerful one to have in your belt, even if only for a short while.
Call us for a tour, today! Here at Lily Pad Childcare, we would love to show you our various distractions–from our multitude of educational toys, our centers, reading nooks, pretend play areas and even our awesome outdoor space; we have plenty to do to keep your little one happy and learning all day long.
5. Teach Coping Skills
Patiently introduce your little one to strategies that will help them calm-down. Examples of this would be taking deep breaths, squeezing their favorite stuffed animal, or using simple words like “help” or “stop.” The well-loved children’s show Daniel Tigers Neighborhood offers multiple songs and strategies to help children handle their big emotions such as: “When you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath *deep breath* and count to four. 1, 2, 3, 4.” (See the episode, here). Over time, the example you set will be like a footpath a child can follow through the jungle of their big emotions.
A new study by Stanford researchers affirms this, being the first to show that taking a few slow yet deep breaths significantly reduces a young child’s physiological arousal (source).
Conflict will inevitably come, even for us here at Lily Pad Childcare. We support coping techniques and would be more than happy to implement the strategies your family has been using to encourage continuity, as well. Call today to further your child’s early childhood education here at Lily Pad Childcare!
Final Thoughts
Toddler tantrums may be inevitable, but chaos doesn’t have to be. With patience, consistency, supportive environments an unwanted outburst can become a valuable learning opportunity, whether at home, childcare, and in a daycare setting. Each tantrum is a step towards emotional regulation, resilience and independence, all laying the groundwork for success later on.
Early childhood education is vastly more than learning your alphabet and numbers. Within these young years, children blaze a course for success later on. Here at Lily Pad Childcare, we want to give our students the best leg up in life that we can–from a quality education to quality emotional growth. Call today to hear more about our teaching philosophies, the curriculum we choose, and to schedule a tour to see learning and growing in action.