23 Positive Parenting Hacks for Difficult Toddler Behaviors, Without Losing Your Head - Part 1
Right, when you thought carrying your baby in your womb is the most difficult thing that you have done, you are left alone to do parenting. And as beautiful as the journey of providing for a child is, it is also filled with terror, rejection and difficult behaviour-almost too difficult to handle. Not all children are the same.
Some are sweet and obedient, while others are tough and rigid. Parenting requires you to understand every kids' behaviour and then handle him accordingly.
Losing your temper is the last thing on the list that you have to do while handling your difficult child. Listen to what your kid has to say. Understand his needs and the reason behind his behaviour. Here we have compiled for you some great positive parenting hacks for difficult toddler behaviour without losing your temper.
1. Know the reason behind your child's difficult behaviour
Before shouting at your little one for his rude behaviour, did you think of why is he behaving the way he is? Did you try to know the reason behind his trigger? What triggered his misbehaviour? Maybe your kid didn't sleep well last night. Or perhaps he is hungry. Or maybe he is pissed at you for not buying him his favourite toy. My point here, my friend, is you can not treat a patient without knowing the root cause of the illness. The solution after understanding the reason behind the spark is to remove the real temptation.
2. Pick your battles
If you want your kid to learn positive discipline preschool behaviour, you must pick your battles. If you are always saying 'no' to your toddler, the chances are that your little one will tune out the 'no' and will not give an ear to your priorities. You need to learn the 'who cares?' attitude for your toddler to outgrow his difficult behaviour.
3. Try reinforcement theory
When nothing seems to be working, and you are on the verge of losing your temper, try applying the reinforcement theory on your toddler. Either go for reinforcement by punishment or ignoring your child's misbehaviour. You can also instil good behaviour in your child by using positive reinforcement such as praising him or giving him a treat whenever he does something good.
4. Practice prevention
Some toddlers tend to act out whenever they are tired, hungry or frustrated. So, it’s better to watch out for the above-mentioned triggering signs. In addition to this, preparing your child for what is coming up next and explaining how you expect him to act will also help your child be prepared for the upcoming task without making a fuss.
5. Practice tweaking everyday routines
For your toddler to learn positive discipline preschool behaviour, he must be used to change. This can be done by simply having mommy and daddy sit at different chairs on the dining table or by trying out a new bedtime song every night. You have to show your kid that by changing things now and then, his world will not collapse.
6. Ensure that you are going to be there for him no matter what
Sometimes kids feel lonely, which makes them want to act out. You need to assure him that no matter what happens, you will always be there for him. Whenever he throws a tantrum or misbehaving, instead of saying anything, just take him into your arms. This tiny gesture might help his world fall into place.
7. Distraction is the key
Whenever your child's behaviour gets out of hands, distract him by tossing his favourite toy or jellies into the scene. The goal here is to take your kids mind off the trigger.
8. Be consistent
You must know that if your reaction to a situation keeps on changing, it is more likely that your toddler will get confused about the mixed signals. You have to stay consistent in whatever you allow your kid. If you stop your toddler from playing with a ball inside the house one day, make sure you don't let him the next day. You have to respond in the same way every day so that your child may learn a lesson.
9. Keep your emotions off the table
It is harder for toddlers to pay attention to words when the parents are bursting with anger or frustrations. Kids are sensitive to parent's emotion, and they have the talent of backfiring the anger. If you want to give your kid’s self-discipline a chance to grow, make sure you keep your emotions to yourself.
10. Listen and repeat
Whenever your toddler starts to misbehaving about something, you need to give him an ear. Assure him that you are listening to his demands. You can also repeat your toddler's concern. For instance, start by saying something like this 'I know you are really mad at me but'. This is not likely to satisfy your little one's urge but is expected to reduce his frustration.
11. Give your child autonomy
While you may think that permissive parenting is more likely to create misbehaving monsters, it's not quite true. Sometimes the reason behind a kid's misbehaviour is the feeling of loss of autonomy. You need to give your kid freedom of choice now and then.
12. Keep it short and simple
Your child is unlikely to listen to you if you start giving him intellectual lectures about where he was wrong. If you want your child to understand the consequences he will suffer if he does not stop misbehaving, you might want to avoid over-talking and explain in simple and easy-to-understand language.
That's the end of part 1! We hope that you've enjoyed this new format of articles, where we focus more on bringing positivity to parenting, fun activities to do with kids, as well as children's brain development.
Check out the brain games and activities section if you're looking for activities like that.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this series where we bring you many more bite-sized positive parenting ideas!