Tantrums and meltdowns can be a daily challenge for those of us out there raising willful toddlers. However, parents of children under three will be the first to admit that they are more than willing to negotiate with those on the FBI’s most wanted list, faster than dealing with the pyrotechnic outburst a two-year-old is about to unleash.
Thankfully, we live in a time where information is available at our immediate disposal. Some parents prefer information available on the internet from reputable sites. Some parents prefer books. There is no right or wrong way to look for help.
Check Out Some Internet Resources for Parents
Web resources can be full of helpful information if you know where to look. Google is a great place to start, but the results can be overwhelming.
Any parent out there should have parents.com bookmarked on their devices. The articles available span a wide range of topics from feeding to teething and talking to, you guessed it, tantrums! For example, an article titled How to Deal with Toddler Temper Tantrums, published in June of 2022, emphasizes that tantrums and meltdowns are important milestones for toddlers and parents. It is a good explanation of how to assess better needs that aren’t being met and how to navigate the best way to handle each situation, attempting to shift the parent’s focus from reacting to being proactive.
Mayoclinic.org also is a great place to find extremely helpful articles on child psychology and how parents can approach tantrums and meltdowns more calmly. An article on How to Keep the Peace while handling a toddler meltdown suggests parental actions like consistency, planning, and praising good behavior are all a part of preventing and working through the tantrums.
The Children’s Hospital of Colorado has another great article on tips for meltdowns. Toddler Tips: Meltdowns, Discipline, and Rewards is a detailed but brief piece on the subject. In short, the author creates a great step-by-step process on identifying the trigger of the tantrum, how parents should try to control their reaction to the meltdown, and appropriate ways to reward or discipline the child. The article ends with helpful suggestions and activities to distract the child from the breakdown and encourage them to communicate their needs better to avoid future issues. You want your little one to be prepared with self control and anger management skills when they enter Little Scholars Preschool.
Read Books about and for the Toddlers
Another helpful resource can be toddler-friendly book series. Reading with your toddler daily is already recommended by professionals in many pediatric fields. Use reading as an opportunity to encourage your child to ask questions and learn about emotions and social interactions.
Almost all book series for toddlers are often colorful, simple, and fun to read. However, there are so many successful series out there that it can be hard to peg down just what you may need for your child.
Some favorites include the “Little Dinos” series by Michael Dahl, The “I’m Feeling…” series by Daniel Tiger, and the “Best Behavior” series by Elizabeth Verdick.
Throughout the years, we have highlighted several children’s books and series recommended more often than others by parents and children alike who have read and loved the books and their stories and characters. Many can be fantastic toddler bedtime reads or even to read while calming down from the meltdown as an excellent distraction or learning opportunity!
Engage in Fun Activities with the Little Ones
Often used in classrooms by teachers, short and sweet activities or Reset Activities use fine motor skills to shift a little one’s focus from meltdown to calm down.
In Dealing with Tantrums: Reset Activities, a pediatric occupational therapist highlights her experiences with teachers over the years and explains how these activities can help a child deescalate and return to their day. It’s stressed that these activities are straightforward and basic with a clear ending. The child should be able to complete these activities quickly and independently.
Bottom Line
Reading educational materials, gathering information from reliable sources, engaging in fun activities with the toddler, or developing skill-building activities at home are valuable ways of distracting an upset toddler. They are also helpful means of teaching kids new ways to express needs and process big emotions. Even small tasks, such as threading beads on yarn, can help a toddler refocus energy into productive behavior.
