Taming Toddler Tantrums: Tips that Really Work

New parents get scared when they hear stories about the “terrible twos.” Take courage, though, you will survive the toddler stage. It’s not easy to understand why your toddler has a tantrum but at such a young age, a child is consumed with thoughts of themselves. Everything is about them and how they feel. Until they are taught how to share, every toy or piece of food they see automatically belongs to them.

Toddler temper tantrums can have a variety of effects. Your first thought might be that everyone is focused on you and your screaming child, but getting embarrassed won’t diffuse the situation. Besides, as a parent, you have many more years of embarrassing situations to look forward to courtesy of your children. So worrying about what others think during this situation is simply going to stress you and make you feel worse.

Here are a few tips to help you cope during tantrums:

1. Ignore the tantrum. This technique works best when at home. In public places, you don’t want to ever leave your child unattended as a form of punishment. Good behavior in public begins at home. Ignoring a toddler is not harsh. If your child is squirming on the floor screaming for a cookie, continue to talk to them as if you never noticed. Eventually, they will get the hint and stop screaming.

2. Avoid instant gratification. In public, toddlers throw tantrums when they are denied something that they want. Some parents give in to keep their child quiet but a child learns quickly. Tantrums will continue if they know you will cave. Simply tell them “no” and keep moving.

3. Don’t get angry. When you scream and they scream the situation is wildly out of control. You’ll end up crying and your toddler will still be screaming. In any situation, raised voices mean civilized conversation has ended in favor of basic primal instincts. Don’t revert back to the days of early man. Keep using the same calm voice you use when they are behaving to get your child to calm down as well.

4. Praise your toddler when they behave well. Positive reinforcement is better than negative. In the absence of positive attention a child will behave badly just to get some attention at all. Acting out and throwing tantrums may be a cry for attention. Don’t let it get to this point. Clap and celebrate when they go to the potty successfully and when they put away their toys. Good manners such as saying “please” and “thank you” deserve a smile and a hand clap as well.

5. Run errands after nap time. Kids get punchy when they get tired. A toddler misbehaves more often if they are dragged around when they are tired.

6. Carry snacks with you. Low blood sugar can lead to tantrums. If you are out longer than anticipated and lunch or dinner time is close at hand, let them eat a healthy snack to keep their hunger pains at bay and sugar levels stable.

7. Be consistent in your punishment. At home, you might use “time out” to deal with a tantrum for bad behavior. In public do the same. Sit your child on a bench for five minutes or take them to the car. Eventually they will learn that you are not a pushover and they will begin to behave.

You will survive the toddler years. Nip temper tantrums in the bud with the above tips.

How to Make a Valentine's Day Heart Wreath With Your Children

This is a fun and simple craft to make with your children for Valentine's Day. For this project, you will need:

• Paper plate
• Construction paper - pink, red and white are ideal for Valentine's Day but feel free to use whatever colors you like
• Pencil
• Glue
• Child-friendly scissors
• Heart-shaped cookie-cutter or any kind of heart object

1. Cut a large hole in the paper plate.
2. To make perfectly shaped hearts, with your pencil, trace a heart-shaped cookie-cutter or other heart shape on the construction paper.
3. Cut out hearts.
4. Glue hearts onto paper plate rim, have hearts overlap one another this way none of the paper plate base shows.
5. Hang your creation.

The Best Early Reading Strategies for Children and Parents

Has your child been displaying a growing curiosity in reading? Would you like to learn what the best early reading strategies are in order to give him or her a head start on their education? Here is an outline of the most effective and simplest early reading approaches that you can apply to help your little one begin building the basic foundation he needs to have to get started reading, providing them with a jump-start on their education and development.

Follow Along With Your Finger

Among the very best early reading techniques that you can apply with your child is to read together with them and as you repeat the words and phrases, follow along with your finger. When children initially start having an interest in learning how to read, they don't realize that those crazy looking squiggles that are on the pages in reality indicate anything. Also, this teaches kids the concept that we read from left to right.

When you follow along with the words on the pages as you read, perhaps even pausing a moment to sound out a word or two as you go along, this will aid in your child better grasping the notion of the realization that the markings that appear on the pages of the book actually in fact represent what is being read aloud.

Letter Recognition

If your child does not know the alphabet yet, he will need to learn it before he learns how to read. A great way of teaching the alphabet is by singing it. When singing, be sure to sing nice and slow, really enunciating each letter. Once your child has become acquainted with the letters of the alphabet, then you can make this approach even more beneficial by asking him if he can identify any of the letters that are on the page. As he points out the letters that he recognizes, be certain that you sound them out, and repeat them together with their companions in whichever word is in question.

Connecting Words With Pictures

An additional excellent early reading tactic is helping your child connect words with their picture counterparts. Children usually have a hard time comprehending that words indeed represent things, so, when you reinforce the two together in their minds, you will help them to recognize that the word and the picture are actually one and the same.

Flashcards

There are a number of flashcards on the market that you can easily buy that will help your little one when it comes to identifying words and pictures. Think about everything that you might have come across in regard to "C stands for Cat." Besides the memorizing skills that a child must undergo when it comes to remembering all of the many shapes and sounds of letters, it's essential to keep in mind that reading comprehension is a vital aspect of the reading process also.

Asking Questions

One of the best early reading strategies is to help establish your children's reading appreciation. You can accomplish this by reading a portion of their most favorite story, and then asking them questions which will get them involved in the story.

As your child begins to develops his or her ability to answer more questions about the portion of text in question, read longer sections of the story before stopping. Start increasing the amount that you read little by little before you ask your child a lot of questions about the book, until you're able to read the entire story and your child can still easily remember the parts of the story that correlate to the questions that you ask.

Be Consistent

The most important early reading tactic that parents can remember is to frequently read to their children on a regular basis. The more that you read to your child, the more words that she will begin to understand, and the more of an interest she will take in the reading process. It is strongly encouraged that you spend at least 15 minutes per day reading to your kids - and more is always better when it comes to instilling a love of books in your child's heart.

Bonnie Lim is the founder of A Kid Place. Check out their blog at blog.akidplace.com as well as their online store at www.akidplace.com.