We have all seen it, and most of us have experienced our children throwing tantrums and acting out! So why do children throw tantrums instead of just using their words?

Temper tantrums range from whining and crying to screaming, kicking, hitting, and breath-holding. They are equally common in boys and girls and usually happen between the ages of 1-3. Every child is different, some have tantrums often, and some hardly ever have tantrums but just know that tantrums are a normal part of child development.

 Tantrums are how young children show that they are upset or frustrated.

Reasons Why A Child May Be Throwing A Tantrum:

• The child may be tired, hungry, or uncomfortable.
• They can’t get something that they want, like a toy.
• They get frustrated because an adult can’t understand what they want.
• The child wants to do it themselves but realizes they can’t.
• The child gets told ‘no.’

 – Toddlers can’t yet say what they want, feel, or need; a frustrating experience may cause a tantrum. Learning to deal with frustration is a skill that children gain over time.

Believe it or not, tantrums are an essential part of our child’s emotional health and well-being.

10 Important Reasons Why Your Child’s Tantrum Is Actually A Good Thing: 

• Better out than in – When we cry, we are literally releasing stress from our bodies.

• Crying may help your child learn – after they calm down again, they have cleared their mind after expressing their frustration and can learn something new.

• Your child may sleep better – Stress can cause a child not to be able to fall asleep and wake up from sleep. Crying and releasing that stress will allow your child to relax.

• Saying ‘No’ is a good thing – Saying no to your child sets boundaries, and they need those.

• Your child will feel safe telling you how he feels – most times; the tantrum is not because you said no; it’s them showing you how they feel about it.

• Tantrums bring you closer together – After the tantrum, hug them, show them they are loved.

• Tantrums will help your child’s behavior in the long run – Having a tantrum helps your child release the feelings that can get in the way of his natural, cooperative self.

• If the tantrum happens at home, it’s less likely to occur in public – when children are allowed to express their emotion fully, they will often choose to have their upsets at home.

• Your child is doing something most of us have forgotten how to do – They cry to release their stress and anger, and as adults, we tend to avoid crying to ‘fit into’ society.
• Tantrums are healing for you, too – Staying calm takes practice, but when we manage it, we are literally rewiring our brains to become calmer, more peaceful parents.

What Should You Do During A Tantrum?

 The most important thing to do during your child’s tantrum is to stay calm; if you get upset and angry, it will only make the situation worse. Everyone’s child needs different reactions, so know your child and what they need from you.

Sometimes it is best to ignore the tantrum! If you ignore it, they realize that they will not get your attention when they throw a fit.

After a tantrum, the most important thing is to praise your child for calming down and hug your child, reassure them that they are loved, no matter what.

 Helping Your Child Learn How to Express Their Feelings 

Young children have a hard time identifying how they are feeling and how to express those feelings appropriately. The first step is to help your child identify their own emotions and why they feel that way.

Here are 10 ways to help your child express their feelings:

• Use Words or Illustrations – Explain the feeling to your child by using easy words they can understand. Using picture books is a great way to illustrate feelings.
• Teach Your Child Sign Language – This gives them tools to express their wants and needs.
• Help Them Find A Solution – Teach your child different ways to deal with feelings and allow them to come up with solutions.
• Encourage with Praise – When you see your child positively expressing their feelings, always praise them.
• Practice – Practice strategies for expressing emotions by talking about feelings during daily life.
• Name the Feeling – Help your child give their feelings labels.
• Identify Feelings in Themselves and Other – Describe emotions they see around them.
• Accept Your Child’s Feelings – they will feel like you understand them, and that will help them cooperate with you and make them feel better.
• Listen to Your Child’s Feelings – They need to feel like you care.
• Talk About Others Feelings – When your child is upset about something that involved another child, talk about your child’s feelings, but also discuss how the other child may be feeling.

Children just want to feel loved and understood. Remember, when your child isn’t calm, your NUMBER #1 JOB IS TO STAY CALM!

 Do you love these ideas/activities and want more of them? You can have a box with age-appropriate activities that are developmentally correct and pediatric designed, shipped right to your door! Click the link below to get your box now!

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Easter holds so many great activities for our children. What kid doesn’t love an Easter egg hunt? An Easter egg hunt is not just fun but a whole learning process. First, there’s finding the eggs, which works on your child’s gross motor and cognitive skills. Then decision making, planning, visual skills, and Picking the eggs up and putting them in the basket, which works on the child’s fine motor skills and coordination.

Here are some fun activities to do at Easter:

Color Scavenger Hunt

• Use plastic-colored Easter eggs to encourage gross motor skills, visual perception, and learning colors. They will also be building cognitive skills and visual scanning.
• You can assign a color to each child, and those are the eggs that they need to find.
• You can use clues or a scavenger hunt for the older children.
• The reward is they get to keep what is inside each of the eggs that they find.
  • Some tips for a successful Easter egg hunt for small children are:
    • Find a suitable space for the hunt, a small safe place.
    • Make sure to have baskets for each child.
    • Keep it simple.
    • Make sure all the children know the rules.
    • Keep things fair.

Easter egg hunts and/or scavenger hunts encourage physical activity. You can even involve math and have your little one practice counting all of the eggs they found. You can even put different sensory objects in some of the eggs for them to explore. Easter stickers are also a great item to put in the eggs.

Eggs and Bunny Art

• This activity will be painting or coloring the eggs.
• Have your child use markers, crayons, or paint to color the eggs for Easter.
• Let them be creative and use their imagination. There is no right or wrong way.

Art promotes creativity, and that is extremely important for a child’s development. Holding the marker, crayon, or brush works on their fine motor skills. Art also helps children gain confidence and perseverance. Painting and coloring help develop visual-spatial skills. It will also help develop working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control.

Feed the Bunny

• Use a box that is closed up and cut out a mouth for the bunny.
• Give your child pom poms and have them feed the bunny through the mouth either with their hands or tweezers.

This activity will work a child’s pincer grasp when picking up the pompoms with their fingers or the tweezers. The ability to isolate the pointer finger and use a pincer grasp during fine motor play are important skills to prepare kids for a good pencil grasp.

This activity can also work on your child’s ability to cross the midline. Have them reach over to the left side to get the pompoms and then back to the right to feed the bunny. This is an important prerequisite to efficient reading, writing skills, and overall motor coordination.

Easter Activities to Involve the Entire Family

– Egg and Spoon Race – This is an old-fashioned outdoor game where you each have a spoon with an egg resting on it. You all race to a certain spot and see who can make it there first without dropping their egg.

– Read Easter books together as a family. Reading is so good for children and helps them with bonding, listening skills, cognitive and language development, expanded vocabulary, attention span, creativity, and social and emotional development.

– Easter symbolizes rebirth, so plant some flowers, plants, or trees together. Children love to help, and you can teach them about the planting process, feeding and nurturing what you plant, and how it grows.

– You can decorate a tree with Easter eggs for Spring.

– You can teach your child about the importance of giving. Have them help make, decorate, and fill an Easter basket. Then bring it to a neighbor, friend, or family member.

– Make the Easter meal together as a family. Let the children help because they love to feel like they accomplished something and helped mom and dad.

– If the weather permits, be outside! Everyone benefits from getting some sunshine and breathing in the fresh air. It is also very beneficial for children to explore the outdoors and nature.

Holidays bring families together, and family time is incredibly important for raising a healthy and secure child. Children learn from what they see, so show them what it means to be there for each other and truly with each other. It is a time when your children learn how to deal with all kinds of life situations, and they learn invaluable lessons.

So, don’t forget to stock up on some plastic Easter eggs, candy, small gifts/toys, and anything else you might need for Easter. Most of all just have fun!!

Do you love these ideas/activities and want more of them? You can have a box with age appropriate activities, that are developmentally correct and pediatric designed, shipped right to your door! Click the link below to get your box now!

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