[cocosmumNco]

this may just make your life easier now or in the future.

just read something that suggests to stop agruements with toddlers and preschoolers you should make things fun for example are going to hop to bed like a ribbit or crawl like a puppy. we used something simplar to get zac to go toliet when busy saying i'm gonna win and racing him to the toliet to get him to go i didn't think he to use it in other areas. lately zac has argued about everything at bedtime he asked for hot milk which i had already made him which had gone cold so i wasn't prepared to make him more so i said come on drink your snack juice he giggled and then drink your snail juice etc he soon forgot he wanted hot milk and drank it next at bed i said i'm gonna be first to sleep i'm gonna win and he was asleep in no time. i'm very impressed and gonna try it more definately easier than last night which meant i didn't get to bed till 4am cause he was arguing with me.

[Trish36]

One trick I've used in the past, is for a temper tantrum. Whenever my kids start screaming about something I take them to the bathroom and close the door and then I tell them to scream as loud as they can. What? That's not loud enough!! Scream louder and don't forget to stomp your feet! That usually throws them off, cause I'm actually asking them to be loud and obnoxious. LOL I use that only if 1,2, 3 or time out doesn't work. 99% of the time the tantrum has been forgotten and they quiet down within seconds.
This technique however hasn't worked with my Isabelle, who will actually scream louder. She's a little stinker. She needs the incentive of competition big time.

[cocosmumNco]

lol bless her.
zac has terriable temper trantrums hes so strong willed this morning i tried another whati read about which was to read what thy are saying in a happy voice so they know you know what they are saying then i told him still calmly that when he stops crying i will listen and nothing gonna happen when hes crying. then after a few tries you have to use your words of distraction well.

[SammyJ]

My mom would do similar things with my siblings and I growing up and I really think they helped! Good idea

[Shades of Grey]

The power of distraction is strong We do this a lot with Greyson. Lately he has been having more tantrums and we have always talked through everything so its been hard. He has always been very communicative and verbal and usually I could talk him down from a tantrum. Lately we have been doing a lot of deep breaths to calm (and stop crying) down before he can tell me why he is upset. This turns into, that was a fast breath, try a deep breath. A few of those and he is calm enough to talk our whatever the fit was about.

[Keakie]

I've heard that referred to as 'playful parenting' and it works really well with most kids. Redirection is always a good thing, too.

Another one that I try to keep in mind is whether or not the kid is hungry, tired, overstimulated, etc. It helps me stay calm because I can think, "Oh, so-and-so hasn't eaten since whatever-o-clock." and it stops me from feeling like they're tantruming just to make my day difficult. Usually it means that I can offer someone a snack or some quiet time or a hug, and it can help. The toughest one is tired because even when a child is tired, knows he's tired, knows he's grumpy because he's tired, sometimes he still will fight sleep. Typically, doing a mental check for those things helps though.

[cocosmumNco]

yeah definately when zac is hungry he's in a terriable mood

[Trish36]

oh yeah, Isabelle becomes a little monster when she's hungry or tired. I call her my little grumpkin.