How to Soothe a Fussy Toddler

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The “terrible twos” or “terrible threes” often refer to the emotional turbulence toddlers experience as they grow. This age can be challenging because young children struggle to regulate their emotions, leading to frequent mood swings and meltdowns. However, these fluctuations are normal and not a sign of bad behavior, according to Dr. Paula Levine, a psychiatrist. Understanding this emotional development can help parents cope with their toddler’s moodiness and support them through this phase.

What Is Emotional Regulation—and Why Do So Many Toddlers Struggle With It?

Emotional regulation is the ability to manage one’s emotional state, a skill that adults often employ to avoid escalating situations. Toddlers, however, are still learning this skill and often lack the vocabulary to express their feelings, leading to frustration and emotional outbursts. It’s not that they can’t learn emotional regulation; they simply haven’t developed it yet.

Self-Regulation and Ways To Help Your Toddler Cope

While toddlers are just beginning to learn emotional regulation, it’s important to lay a foundation for self-regulation early on, with mindfulness playing a key role. Mindfulness can help toddlers shift their focus from upsetting experiences to more positive sensations. To effectively teach mindfulness, parents should practice it themselves, as children often imitate their caregivers’ behaviors.

Here are Ways to Soothe a Fussy Toddler:

Create routines: Routines, whether for dinner or bath time, can help soothe fussy toddlers by providing a sense of predictability. When children know what to expect, it can keep them calm and reduce anxiety during transitions.

Get enough sleep: One of the most common reasons toddlers get fussy is because they haven’t gotten enough quality sleep. If they woke up early, went to bed late, or had an interruption to their regularly scheduled nap time, it might be just enough to set off major fussiness.

Try to determine what’s wrong: While toddlers melt down for a wide variety of reasons, getting to the root cause can be helpful—for you and them. Ask simple but pointed questions, if they can speak. Encourage them to show you what’s wrong. And know that while you may have given them the wrong color sippy cup, sometimes, the cause is more serious. Some toddlers act out when they are sick and/or in pain. The more you can understand about their mood, the better.

Know when to step back and let them be: Allowing your toddler to have a tantrum by throwing themselves on the floor can be frustrating, but it may be necessary. Pediatrician Daniel Broughton explains that toddlers are learning which behaviors effectively influence others. If parents always give in to the screaming, they inadvertently teach their child that this behavior is an acceptable way to get what they want.

Work to avoid problems: Certain tantrums can be avoided if you look for patterns and learn what’s particularly difficult for your child. For example, if your child gets cranky when they’re hungry, you may want to arrange play dates for a time after they’ve eaten. Or if they can play well with other kids for 30 minutes before having a meltdown, try to separate them at around the 20-minute mark.

Teach coping skills and remind your child to use them: Most adults have learned to handle frustrating situations, but toddlers often lack these skills. Parents can help by teaching strategies like deep breathing and simple coping statements, such as “Everybody makes mistakes.” It’s also important for parents to model these skills in their own behavior. Before potentially frustrating tasks, remind the child of these coping strategies. While developing these skills takes time, early and consistent efforts can be beneficial in the long run.

Praise your child when they handle frustration well: When your child handles a frustrating situation well, point it out and praise them. Children generally take joy in being praised like this, and with many kids, behaviors that are praised are more likely to be repeated.

In conclusion, finding the best way to soothe your toddler will be different for every family, but teaching them about different ways to regulate their emotions and soothe themselves will help them now and in the future. So try to be patient. Be persistent, and breath. This age and stage will pass.

Read More: https://childreninfobank.com/safebank/how-to-soothe-a-fussy-toddler/

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