The mornings are getting easier. Although the end of the days are still a nightmare, at least the mornings are calmer.
Two years ago when your first child was born you never would have imagined that the end of day toddler screaming tantrums would make you consider quitting your job. The way these last two months have gone, however, you are actually rethinking everything about your schedule. When your daughter was throwing a fit every morning of daycare drop off you rearranged your schedule so that you could stick around for a while and help with the transition. Just as soon as you worked out the morning drop off, though, your daughter found another way to demonstrate the most epic toddler screaming tantrums. Now, she refuses to leave when you pick her up.
She hides in the crib room. She wraps herself around the afternoon staff members and screams when you walk in the door. Once you get her out to the car she is perfectly fine. The transition, however, is embarrassing. The kicking. The screaming. The staff tries to pretend like it is nothing they have not seen before, but you know for a fact that no one else at pick up creates this kind of scene.
You try to tell yourself that dealing with terrible twos is temporary. This kind of temporary, however, is exhausting. You have been reading books, asking friends for advice, trying to find a distraction, and reinforcing the good behavior, but none of this is working. You know that it is not realistic to think about quitting your job, but it is getting more and more difficult to survive these painful pickups.
Toddler Screaming Tantrums Make Long Days Even Longer
The terrible twos do not seem to hit every child, but for some families the months of the toddler screaming tantrums can seem never ending. For some parents, solving this problem can seem completely impossible. For the patient and diligent parents, however, dealing with the terrible twos is manageable, although it can take a lot of work. Consider some of these tips:
- Never let your emotions match your child’s temper. Actions speak louder than words. You can ask your children to stay calm, but if your behavior does not match your words, your child will not appropriately respond. Even if it means that you need to step out of the room for a minute, make sure that you control your temper before you try to reign in your child’s.
- Master the art of distraction. Many times children will give up their anger if they find something else that interests them. Instead of asking your child to quit crying, consider moving on to another more favorable activity. Chances are that if you select another activity that is of interest to your child, they will finally move beyond their behavior, and join in what you you are doing.
- This too shall pass. Raising a child is full of many challenges, but the realization that you are not going to be dealing with the Terrible Twos forever, you might find the energy you need to help your child through even the most challenging times. Finding resources to help with your child and his or her behavior can help you connect with other parents who are in this same challenging stage.
Adjusting to a toddler can be a transition. After being the parent of an infant, however, the task of parenting a toddler requires many transitions. For instance, most parents react quickly to the needs of their infants. Acting by instinct, parents respond to 50% to 60% of a baby’s vocalizations. Once a child is older, however, parents begin the challenging task of helping their toddlers move toward independence. Frustrated with their inability to do everything that they want to be able to do, toddlers can become easily frustrated and demanding. In addition, by the end of age two, the average baby has been changed 7,300 times. As children get older, however, these two minute changes, which add up to three 40 hour work weeks a year move aside for the challenge of potty training. Life with a child is constantly changing, even the terrible twos. Are you ready for the challenge?
