Thursday, June 3, 2010

Lack of Vocabulary + Frustration = Tantrums

Well, we are officially in the tantrum phase. Not only have Bryan and I been experiencing these *fine* displays, but it was confirmed with an email from babycenter...subject: 5 tips for taming toddler tantrums. It's so hard because we hate seeing him get so out of control (i.e. back arched, screaming at the top of his lungs, whatever's in his hands being launched across the room) but then at the same time we totally understand that he's frustrated and has no way of really communicating that fact other than doing what I just described. Fun stuff, huh?!

Here's what babycenter says...
Why your child has temper tantrums
A temper tantrum is the emotional equivalent of a summer storm — sudden and sometimes fierce. One minute you and your child are in a restaurant enjoying your dinner, the next minute he's whimpering, whining, and then screaming at the top of his lungs because his straw is bent. Children between the ages of 1 and 3 are especially prone to such episodes.Though you may worry that you're raising a tyrant, take heart — at this age, it's unlikely that your child is throwing a fit to be manipulative. More likely, he's having a meltdown in response to frustration. Claire B. Kopp, professor of applied developmental psychology at California's Claremont Graduate University, attributes much of the problem to uneven language skills. "Toddlers are beginning to understand a lot more of the words they hear, yet their ability to produce language is so limited," she says. When your child can't express how he feels or what he wants, frustration mounts.
So this morning Garrison had a total meltdown when I was dropping him off at daycare. I think part of it was that he didn't want to be confined to the play area - he likes be be boundary-less. I mean, don't we all? And then the fact that I was leaving just excalated the whole situation. It was BAD. And SUCKY. And just NOT GOOD. Get the picture? The good news is that the episodes are short lived and then he's fine. Like it never happened fine. Don't ya wish that was still the way things were? That you get mad and then 2 seconds later, you're just over it? Those were the days that a shiny (insert object) could totally help you forget the "trauma" that just happened.

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