Toddler tantrums are real. And they can last forever. Learning how to overcome tantrums and address your toddler’s behavior begins with asking some key questions about their behavior to understand what’s going on under the surface.
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Know that you’re not alone. Toddler tantrums are very common in this stage of life. However, it’s worth your attention to how frequent and explosive your toddler’s tantrums really are.
Start with asking some key questions about your toddler’s behavior:
What’s happening physically with my toddler?
Are his or her emotional needs being met?
Are there any deeper, spiritual needs that need my attention?
Here are a few other points of guidance for these situations.
Remember that young children need help controlling their emotions. Your own behavior can provide a good model for how they’re supposed to behave or interact with others.
Time outs can be very effective methods of consequence with toddlers. Try giving your toddler a time out after he or she throws a tantrum.
Try to understand what’s going on under the surface with your toddler. Seek to understand the source of your toddler’s anger.
Dr. Daniel Huerta is Vice President of Parenting and Youth for Focus on the Family, overseeing the ministry’s initiatives that equip moms and dads with biblical principles and counsel for raising healthy, resilient children rooted in a thriving faith.
He is a psychologist, a licensed clinical social worker, and the author of 7 Traits of Effective Parenting. For many years, he has provided families with practical, biblically-based and research-based parenting advice on topics including media discernment, discipline, communication, mental health issues, conflict resolution, and healthy sexuality in the home. He is passionate about coming alongside parents as they raise contributors, instead of consumers, in a culture desperately in need of God’s kingdom.
Dr. Huerta has been interviewed by various media outlets including Fox News, Fatherly, Christianity Today, WORLD Magazine, and CBN, and he is a frequent guest on Christian radio stations across the nation. He’s also written for publications, including The Washington Post, on various topics related to marriage and parenting. He participated in the development of Focus on the Family’s Launch Into the Teen Years, a resource to help parents prepare their kids for adolescence, and he speaks regularly at retreats, conventions, and online events.
Dr. Huerta has maintained a private practice in Colorado Springs, Colorado since 2003 and has served families through Focus on the Family since 2004. He and his wife, Heather, have been married since 1997 and love being parents to their three teen children, Alex, Lexi, and Maci.
For Christian families, there’s an overwhelming importance upon understanding the roles of female and male. However, our culture emphasizes different aspects of these roles from Christianity. In the Christian context, the origin point for this conversation lies at the beginning: the creation of woman and man.
Today’s kids face new challenges and ask questions our kids didn’t have to two decades ago. But God has provided every answer and truth to help them have a positive mindset and turn adversity into an adventure.
April 8, 2024
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