What’s the best way to handle tantrums?
Sometimes a child may be teetering on a temper tantrum and the best thing to do is let him have one. It may seem counter intuitive, after all our kid is upset, and we tell ourselves we’re supposed to help him feel better. But rushing in to help a child prematurely may be giving him the dangerous message that we as parents can take away his pain or that it is not O.K. to be feeling big feelings at all. Also, we do not want to rob children of this important opportunity (tantrums) to learn about their big feelings. Children need to learn that it is O.K. to feel and that feelings usually don’t last very long if we respect them. In this way, they get a good release without being frightened by their feelings or worried that their anger or sadness will push us away.
