Tantrums are behaviors when children want their anger or frustration to be noticed. However, once a child is at the point of severe stress, the brain area that processes emotions has taken control of the cognitive reasoning that happens in the frontal, thinking areas. The best reaction is to first calm the emotions enough for the child to have access to logical thought. The first step to calm a child is to recognize the child’s anxiety by saying – “I see you are angry, or I see you are upset. Let’s breath or let’s do calming brain exercises or suggest doing a physical action that you know your child enjoys doing.” Once the child is calm, you can then reason with him/her with choices for alternatives to tantrum behavior. It is important to remember that staying calm and consistent with your response is essential. These behaviors create stress for you as the adult, therefore, stay in your ‘thinking’ brain area and exhibit the behavior you want your child to learn is important. This practice takes time and effort for both you and your child. Practice brain exercises with your child every day so that in times of stress, it is easier to control emotions.
A Process to Create Inclusive
Environments for Every Unique Brain
