An older child who throws a temper tantrum is letting you know that he needs to learn the boundaries of what he can and cannot do. Some tantrums can be manipulative, a means to get what he wants when you tell him "no". If your child has learned the habit of tantrums to get his way, you can turn this behavior around. Here's how:
- Anticipate the situations that trigger your child to have a tantrum.
- Keep a positive but firm attitude when you enforce compliance in a situation in which he commonly tantrums to get his way.
- Don't argue if he starts to escalate into a tantrum. Simply restate your expectation and say, "I know you can do this. If you throw a fit, this will be the consequence."
- If he chooses to tantrum, step back, stay close, but don't talk to him until he stops. If he storms off, let him go.
- After he calms down again, enforce the consequence that you stated.
Follow these steps each time he tantrums. In time, you'll see in his eyes that he knows this is not going to work. Then, the behavior will start to fade away and you can both celebrate his newfound maturity.
