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Oh, Those Toddlers!
3 Big Reasons to Celebrate Your Little One By Alexandria Powell
Sondre Swan didn't know what she'd done, but whatever it was, her 22-month-old was letting her know he didn't like it. "Joshua dropped to the floor and began to kick and scream," says Swan of Monroe, La. "My solution was to simply ignore this and walk to another area of the house. When Joshua realized he was being ignored, he got up, came over to where I was, carefully laid his body down on the floor and started his tantrum all over again!" Swan started laughing and even called her mother to share the story. While she was laughing on the phone, Joshua got tickled, too, and the tantrum ended on a happy note.
Tantrums aren't always amusing, but they are a quintessential toddler behavior. Where do these explosions of baby rage come from anyway?
"Toddlers can't manage stress like we can," says Lerner. She notes that tantrums frequently occur when toddlers are confronted by change that they aren't ready for.
In addition, toddlers understand much more than they are able to communicate. "They are very wise beings, but they don't have the ability to execute all the ideas they have," says Lerner. "They often want to do things they can't do yet, so they are frustrated a lot." If your toddler wants her cereal in the red bowl but you pour it into the blue bowl instead, your child may not have the words to explain what she really wanted and a tantrum ensues.
Ronni Davis is the mom of a 2 1/2-year-old son and the veteran of many dramatic tantrums. "As a parent, these tantrums have taught me patience," says Davis of Columbus, Ohio. "I realize they are the result of Aidan not being able to express himself adequately, so I try to get out of him what he needs."
Tantrums have also taught Davis flexibility, as there are times when plans have to be changed or completely scrapped when toddlers won't cooperate. But mainly, says Davis, "They have taught me that Aidan is a little person. Not a doll or a toy, but a person with opinions, wants, needs. I make it a point to treat him as if he is important and that he matters. He just wants to be heard. So I listen."