Child Wellness: Temper tantrums
As a parent, if you, yourself haven' t experienced your having a child melt down, chances are, you've witnessed one. It can be pretty nasty. In today's Child Wellness Report, taming the tantrums.
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If you are a parent and your child is throwing a temper tantrum, where they have them can make the difference. In the privacy of your own home it's easier to manage, versus out in public where everybody can see.
"As a parent, when I was going through it, it was embarrassing," said one parent.
They are most common between the ages of 1 and 1/2 and three.
"They'd lay down, kick, scream," another parent said.
The worst ones are in public. Whether it's out shopping, a party or a restaurant, best advice cut the outing short or perpetuate the problem with empty threats.
"Not following through on your threats are big mistake. When a child is having a temper tantrum and they then are winning that battle and reinforcing the behavior, that if they have those behaviors, that no matter what you threaten, you are not going to follow through," said Dr. Manny Cirenza.
If the tantrum happens in the home, be careful not to give into the child. Times outs can be effective, for the parent.
"I tell parents leave, go to another room, go up to your own bedroom sometimes lock yourself in the in while the child is having temper outside of your bedroom I think can be a very effective strategy, now clearly they need to be safe, in an environment where they are not going to hurt themselves," Cirenza said.
Managing tantrums can be made easier if understand what's happening. Young children can't make a lot of decisions for themselves. Tantrums are a sense of control, they can control where they happen, what happens and it's a way to push you limits.
"Its an adult world, so when they pitch their temper tantrum and pitch their fit, they are using that strategy because then we usually we feel bad, we are trying to stop the temper tantrum and so we give into what they want and in doing so, they learn it's the most effective strategy to make us stop doing what we are doing," Cirenza said.