Tantrums In Toddlers can be so frustrating, can’t they? It seems like one minute they’re happy as can be and the next they’re having a full-blown fit because they don’t get their way. But even though tantrums can be really annoying, it’s important to remember that they’re a normal part of toddler development. So instead of getting angry or frustrated when your toddler throws a fit, try to understand what’s behind the tantrum and deal with it in a loving way. 🙂
Toddlers
The children ages between 1 to 4 years are regarded as toddlers. It is the age when a child needs attention and complete supervision. They need their family around them to protect them and give them much-needed protection. young kids do not have self-control. Parents can notice unexpected changes in their children’s lives. Here in this article, you will learn about the meltdown and temper tantrums, causes behind them as well as remedial measures to cope with them.
What is a meltdown?
We are living in a world where everyone has a different personality and shows different traits. We are all different. Sometimes a thing or situation makes one happy while it is a worse thing for the other. People having differences mostly react differently to different situations.
toddlers show unexpected behavior to certain stimuli, sometimes they start weeping unintentionally in some situations. when they get more than one stimuli and their brain faces trouble in sorting out these stimuli. they unintentionally start screaming or yelling, this sudden and intense reaction is referred to as a meltdown. Most autistic children show these meltdowns.
What is a tantrum?
Tantrums are considered similar to a meltdown because both of them have similar behavior in children. Tantrum is a sudden feeling of anxiety and frustration that is somewhat controllable as a kid can perceive the surroundings and control his/her reactions. children mostly get noisy, aggressive, and out of control because of anger and frustration caused by certain stimuli. This response is referred to as a tantrum.
Tantrums vs meltdowns
Tantrums and meltdowns are somewhat similar behaviors but they are different from each other. toddlers show tantrums when they face worse situations. as their communication skills are not much developed at this age so they yell, cry, shriek, and display aggressive behavior.
When a child is sensory overloaded and is overwhelmed by certain stimuli he/she displays unconditional reactions and expresses intense emotions that are referred to as meltdowns.
Tantrums and meltdowns are not clinical terms but some people consider them similar. A tantrum is a more controllable situation than a meltdown and it is the best distinction between the two, in melting down children have zero control over their behavior while in tantrums they have certain control over their expressions.
Causes of meltdown and tantrums in toddlers
tantrums are normal in the ages between 1 to 3 years but some parents get worried about meltdowns and temper tantrums of their kids. It is reported that some kids show fewer tantrums than others. all reactions have a certain stimulus behind them, so all tantrums and meltdowns have causes or reasons. There are many reasons behind a temper tantrum. clinical psychologists have suggested these reasons behind a melting down and tantrum.
Anxiety
anxiety is an emotional reaction towards some internal fearful situations. It is a normal human response toward certain fearful situations. but it gets worse when it becomes a part of daily routine. it sometimes becomes the main reason behind temper tantrums. When children get anxious about certain stimuli or situations, they show temper tantrums.
Hunger
a young child does not tell when he is hungry, so he displays temper tantrums. Un attended hunger mostly triggers meltdowns. Kids at a very early age can only express their emotions by weeping or screaming. it is the only way to call for their parent’s attention. temper tantrums get worse and occur rapidly whenever a child feels hungry. and they have meltdowns when they are left unattended for a long period.
Seeking attention
Child shows temper tantrums when he wishes to seek the attention of his parents, caregivers, and family members. When a need arises, it works as sensory input and many children under these situations start throwing things and get upset. It is easy to control this situation. mothers, as well as fathers, should immediately pay much-needed attention to their kids.
Tiredness
” All work and no play make Jack a dull boy” is a famous saying. Sometimes overplaying becomes a cause of tantrums and frustrations. Children having autism do not like any change in their daily routine as a result they become upset and feel tired. In the opinion of a clinical psychologist, children tend to show temper tantrums when they get tired and have disturbed sleep.
Anger
when a kid does not get a thing or toy they need or like they become angry, they can hurt themselves when they are in acute depression and anxiety, and this anger sometimes triggers meltdowns. they start yelling and screaming unless they get the toy or the thing they need.
Underlying causes of temper tantrums
There are some underlying causes that trigger meltdowns in kids. According to mental health associations, there are some problems in the nervous system due to which meltdowns happen. some of the common underlying reason behinds melting down are.
ADHD
Sometimes ADHD becomes a reason behind tantrums. It is a neurological disorder that causes adjustment problems. a child having ADHD becomes overly active or sometimes faces problems in paying attention to certain stimuli. He feels difficulty concentrating when in school.
Autistic children
autistic child mostly shows tantrums as he has less or no control over his emotions. An autistic child loves to follow a specific routine and he becomes aggressive when his daily routine gets disturbed due to some unknown reasons. Hence, he shows tantrums.
Depression
Sometimes a child starts showing tantrums and meltdowns when he has depression and is coping with certain mood disorders. depression causes adverse reactions. Kids with depression get overwhelmed easily and start showing troublesome behavior. They get irritated easily and start crying unintentionally.
Sensory processing disorders
Many school-going kids show tantrums and meltdowns when they get overwhelmed by their school environment. Sometimes their brain does not process the information they perceive from their surroundings. This sensory processing disorder mostly occurs in kids that have autism and other neurological disorders. In some situations, this disorder causes tantrums and meltdowns in kids.
Learning disorders
Learning disorders usually trigger meltdowns. When a child does not understand what the teacher is telling in school and how to retain this information, he becomes overwhelmed and never knows how to respond to this situation he becomes frustrated and shows tantrums.
Is it normal for a three-year-old to have a meltdown?
it is a normal reaction toward a certain stimulus, here we can quote an example of a child aged between 3 to 4 years. When his parents take him to a market he starts weeping when seeing someone suspicious or screaming when he wishes to take a toy that he sees in a shop or start yelling when passing by an ice cream vendor. These are normal but the situation gets worse when children go on displaying these reactions more intensely and more rapidly.
What causes a three-year-old meltdown?
Parents can observe their child’s tantrums. and it is a normal part of child development. When a three-year-old gets frustrated he shows tantrums as they cannot express their feelings by communication. These are common in children ages 1 to 4 years and reduce with time as they develop language skills. a three-year-old child’s tantrum causes hunger, frustration, anxiety or stress, hunger, and tiredness.
How to stop meltdowns in a three-year-old child?
kids at the age of 3 years are more sensory active. They learn lots of new things from their parents and family members. but sometimes they get out of control and become aggressive. they become overwhelmed due to some unlikely situations and start displaying tantrums and meltdowns.
There are many coping strategies to reduce tantrums in kids that cause stress in their parents. The most important thing is to calm them and reduce their stress.
Here are some tips and tricks that will help parents to make their kids stop crying when they face some difficult situation.
Analyze the situation
We can easily suggest a solution and find a remedy when we analyze the situation and the reason behind a problem. It is recommended by child psychiatrists that if parents want their kids to express good behavior to certain stimuli they should analyze the situation that triggers tantrums and meltdowns in their kids.
Nothing could be done without a proper analysis of the problem. They cannot get rid of these undesirable situations only after analyzing the complete situation that gives rise to these adverse feelings.
By paying attention
seeking parent attention triggers tantrums and melting downs, parents can easily cope with this situation by paying much-needed attention to their kids. they should talk to them, smile, and give them the attention they are looking for.
Let your child express their feelings
children usually express tantrums and undesirable behavior when they cannot express their feelings and emotions.sit back, breathe deeply, and let your child express his/ her feelings and emotions. a proper outlet for their emotions will prove helpful in coping with tantrums and meltdowns.
Distract them
when a child gets out of control, frustrated, and expresses undesirable behaviors, try to distract them. if they are in their room, take them out or show them certain things or a toy, talk to them to control their tantrum.
Engage them in an activity
There are many early childhood activities like drawing, painting, and making things with clay or sand. parents can easily choose any of the indoor activities that can easily be conducted in a room to get their kids involved in these activities and as a result, controlling their tantrums.
Help them to cope with frustration
a parent should notify the reason behind their child’s tantrums, they should search out the reason behind these sudden responses and help their kids to learn new skills to cope with these situations.
Take them out
When a situation persists, try to change the environment. take your kid out to a quieter place and try to calm them by distracting their attention from a stressful incident. get your kid involved in some educational and motivational activities so that they forget why they show tantrums.
Stay calm
Psychologists suggest parents stay calm in uncontrolled situations, it is not easy when a person faces an undesirable situation. For example, when you take a child to some family gathering or to a market place he starts weeping and showing tantrums, staying calm and easy is the only way to cope with these situations.
Firm hug
children immediately stop crying when parents hug them, it reflects their love for their child. This warm and pampering behavior reduces stress and they get calm. the parents can deal with child adverse behavior and can promote a positive response in their child by giving some reward for their good action and taking an advance notice of the unhealthy condition.
Good coping skills
Teach your kid to take deep breaths when he displays tantrums as it is a good way to respond to these undesirable situations. Playing games with them involved them in some healthy activities and language lessons. These activities will help them to deal with the tantrum.
Involve a kid in a video game
It is an era of modern technologies and video games. Parents find a good and engaging video game for their toddler that not only helps them to enhance their vocabulary but also is a good coping strategy.
How to deal with meltdowns in young kids
Kids ages 12 to 15 are regarded as adults. The kids during these years mostly learned behavior. They usually show some tantrums conditionally to get the desired response from their parents, caregivers, and other family members. This tantrum helps them to get the things they need. It is easy to control tantrums and meltdowns in young children. Here are some ways and strategies that will prove helpful in controlling their tantrums.
Take them to a quiet place
Sometimes noise and loud voices cause stress and disturbance in child behavior. when kids become overwhelmed, feel aggressive, and become anxious due to some situations. take them out for a walk and away to a quiet place where they feel calm and forget about the frustrating situations.
Self-control
The parents can promote good behavior in their kids and they can guide them to control their emotions when they sense something bad. kids learn to respond to certain stimuli in a more accepted way.
Research has proved that parents communicating with their kids reduces stress and depression. Kids having healthy bonding with their parents do not show aggressive behavior and are more socially active.
How a child can show fewer tantrums
Is it possible to teach a child to cope with undesired situations more healthily and teach them how to reduce stress? That arises from a troublesome situation. Studies have proved that active parent involvement helps the kids that have tantrums and meltdowns to show more desirable behavior.
With the passage of time as they acquire language skills, they become less aggressive and show few tantrums. They can easily communicate and tell others what they need, they can ask for food and water when they feel hungry, similarly, they can call their mother as well as their father easily.
In Conclusion
If we understand that tantrums are an expression of a child’s frustration and that they occur for many different reasons, it may be easier to handle them. Tantrums can also serve as a sign of hunger or tiredness, so if you know the cause behind your toddler’s fit, there is hope in resolving these situations before they escalate into full-blown screams. As parents, understanding this concept gives us more patience when our children have their moments of rage and control problems.
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