Discipline

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TANTRUMS

Allow your children to express their feelings, but at the same time, try and help them to channel anger and frustration away from violent or aggressive behavior. Here are some suggestions on dealing with temper tantrums:

• When you see the child starting to get worked-up, try to divert attention to a new activity.
• If you cannot distract your child, ignore the child. Every time you react to an outburst, you reward the negative behavior with extra attention. Scolding, punishing, or even trying to reason with the child may encourage the toddler to act up more.
• If you are in public, simply remove the child without discussion or fuss. Wait until the child calms down before resuming your activities.

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If the tantrum involves hitting, biting, or other harmful behavior, do not ignore it. However, do not overreact. Instead, tell the child immediately and clearly that the behavior will not be tolerated. Move the child away for a few minutes.

Remember that a child cannot understand complicated explanations, so do not attempt to reason. Give the punishment immediately. If you wait too long the child will not connect the punishment with the behavior.

Review Date: 01/24/2011
Reviewed By: Jennifer K. Mannheim, ARNP, Medical Staff, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Seattle Children's Hospital; and Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).