Why is a 2-year-old’s tantrum so difficult to curtail?
Because toddlers are more like pint-size cavemen than civilized people, says Harvey Karp, M.D., a pediatrician in Santa Monica, CA, and the bestselling author of The Happiest Baby on the Block. In his new book, The Happiest Toddler on the Block, to be published in March, Dr. Karp discusses how, instead of treating toddlers as though they’re small adults, parents should think of themselves as ambassadors from the 21st century negotiating with a visitor from the Neanderthal clan. To be a skilled ambassador, it helps to speak the native tongue. Traditional ways of talking to older kids won’t work on toddlers when they’re feeling miserable. That’s because they don’t understand logic. Instead, use short phrases, repetition, emphasis of key words, and gesturing, suggests Dr. Karp. Feeling understood goes a long way toward helping a toddler calm down. Like early man, your toddler is intelligent. But that doesn’t mean you can’t end an uncivilized outburst with a bit of trickery. Acting like a
