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Children can be wonderful and fascinating to watch as they grow up, and as their parents, you have a front row seat to everything they experience; the good and the not so good. And when your kids don’t like something, they’ll be sure to be very vocal about it. But this isn’t surprising. After all, most babies are fussy from birth and need to be calmed down every now and then. But as your infant grows into a toddler so does their ability to foster rage and throw epic tantrums everywhere. As the parent you may find this extremely embarrassing and inconvenient. Who wants to put up with a 10 minute blow out over what cereal to buy or how many toys your child can get that month? But you can’t simply give into all their little schemes either. Why are they screaming and what do you do?
Well, here are 5 reasons your child is screaming and how to handle them:
1. Your Baby Is Testing Their Decibel Levels
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That’s right, your baby isn’t mad or upset, they just want to test how loud they can be! Yelling and screaming peaks around the 18 month mark and may prolong until the age of 2. They don’t call it the terrible twos for nothing. But it is important to keep in mind that your baby is just figuring out how loud they can be as it is something new to learn. They have no idea why everyone has stopped in their tracks and is staring at them. A good way to remedy this is to give them positive attention. Simply picking them up and patting them on the back will help them calm down in no time!
2. Your Kid Wants To Communicate With You
Cut your child some slack. They are little and still don’t know how to communicate with you efficiently. If they are trying to tell you something and you don’t understand, they may resort to yelling, or as they see it, saying it again but loudly. Should they really be penalized for this? No. Can they learn better ways of getting their point across? Absolutely. If your child is yelling out of frustration, play this simple game to help them understand how to talk at different volumes. See who can yell the loudest and whisper the softest. Then come back to the normal volume in which you speak. Ask them to maintain this volume as they try to convey their message.
3. Your Child Just Wants Your Attention
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Hell hath no fury like a child scorned and if you refuse to give your child attention any time they ask for it, they’re going to have a huge temper tantrum. Now you may have important matters to attend to. Work and chores that need to be done. But here your toddler is, screaming their lungs out, because they know this is a great way to get your attention. What do you do? As harsh as it seems, it is important to know when to give into their need for attention and when to step back and simply ignore them. Now we are not saying that you should discard your child’s needs but if all they want to do is show you a toy while you’re on a work call, it can wait. Ignoring is an effective way of ending meaningless tantrums as your kid will realize it is not having the desired effect and won’t engage in this behavior again.
4. Your Child Feels Uncomfortable And Anxious
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Your child is prone to throw a fit if they are in an unfamiliar environment or in a situation that they are not comfortable with. This is why your kid may have a temper tantrum in public places like restaurants, planes and malls. They are overstimulated due to all the noise, the strangers and the lights. Also not having the freedom to move and play around as they do at home can really affect them negatively. Sometimes children form an attachment to specific things like a toy or a blanket and get irritated when they are separated from them. The best way to get them is to stop and distract them. Offer them something instead of what they want and can’t have. Or make them sing a song or a nursery rhyme to get their mind off of their environment. With their short attention spans they would have forgotten what they were crying about in no time!
5. Your Kid Is Angry, Hungry Or Tired
We are all guilty of getting in a mood because we’ve had a long day or because we’re hangry and kids are exactly the same. No one wants to hear that they can’t have what they want or that dinner is in half an hour when their tummy is growling. Learning to deal with anger, inconveniences and frustration is a part of growing up and you want your child to handle it well. Teach them how by staying calm while they have their meltdown. Answering their yelling with your own is not going to help matters.
Dealing with your kid’s tantrums can be exhausting and challenging. But it will eventually get better as they grow and learn how to manage their emotions. Until then, keep your cool and try these tactics to help your child keep calm.
