Becoming a parent means to some extent you’re always experimenting and trying new things to get the positive behaviors you want while building a strong relationship with

your children. Still, you don’t need to assume the strategies you adopt be a potpourri of hits and misses. Noted authorities on the subject of how small humans act have

put together some templates that work for parents who want to stay on top of unruly toddlers.

 

For example, psychologists and others who work with hyperactive toddlers have some

helpful tips about what to do when bedtime comes and your little one wants none of it.

Because these children often have a difficult time calming their systems down enough to

shut their eyes at the preordained time , experts suggest parental interventions might be

the best course of action.

 

Rhythmic Sounds

These children often need rhythmic sounds and a quick dose of rocking to soothe and

reset their biological clocks to fall asleep in the first place or to get back to sleep once

they’ve woken up in the middle of the night. You should make these little episodes brief,

but there doesn’t seem to be any way around this physical contact to smooth these rough

patches over.

Some of the things that can help an unruly toddler along are proactive and have to

do with Mom or Dad being able to spot the signs there’s trouble on the horizon. For

example, if you know when your child is getting hungry or tired, you can generally head

bad behavior off at the pass. On the other hand, there’s the philosophy that says if the bad

behavior is minor enough and no one really gets hurt, it’s best to ignore it.

 

Labeled Praise.

There’s another concept professionals have found useful when dealing with unruly

toddlers and the idea is called labeled praise. The concept is simple in that the more

attention you lavish on any kind of behavior, the more of that kind you’ll get from your

child. In other words, this parenting style suggests reprimands actually increase the very

actions you’re trying to get rid of. Likewise, offering praise indiscriminately does little

good. The concept behind labelled praise focuses on telling your offspring what you like

about the behaviors you want to see more of and ignoring the ones, as much as possible,

that you want to get rid of . Attention that gets brought to bad acts will only increase

them according to this model.

 

Do Nothing

There are even child psychologists who suggest that doing nothing is actually a

preemptive way to redirect those tantrums before they start to ferment. The experts

recommend that one hour per week per child is a good starting point to just be with them

and show interest in whatever they happen to be doing. Expressing positive emotions

during these times is a great way to reinforce their feelings and build self esteem as well

as their desire to cooperate with you.

In the end you need to remember to remain calm when your toddler acts out. That will

give you the chance to reasonably access the situation and decide on the best course of

action for everyone involved.

For more interesting articles like this, visit All My Children Daycare.

Author: Rob Starr