Toddler tantrums

Most parents wish they would just ring up the "Supper nanny" when their kids break into a tantrum to avoid having to deal with their toddlers all together. You know her best on the supper nanny show and indeed she is JO Frost, a renowned parenting expert and the author of the latest parenting guide book: Toddler Rules.

 In a recent interview with Jo on Sanjay Gupta MD health segment show, Sanjay asserts that most parents feel powerless when their kids throw tantrums in the home but more so in a public area like in a supermarket or in the park. What should parents do then?  In a tantrum situation, "First detach yourself from the situation, physically at that", she advices. Pointing out that kids are smart and will immediately realize that they are indeed doing something wrong. This move helps a parent to assess the situation then think on their feet instead of reacting in anger and propelling the tantrum longer than intended.

In her book, Jo outlines three categories of tantrums as being either emotional, situational or a mock one with the child only out to anger the parent especially in an area where they have the attention of a third party. She says it’s the responsibility of each parent to know their kids in order to know which tantrum they are rooting for and how to respond to it adequately. She goes further to attach causal reasons for tantrum as being associated with the changing patterns seen in eating, sleeping, socialization and everyday behavior of the child thus the need for parents to be keen and watch out for these subtle tell-tale signs their kids consciously or unconsciously communicate.

In Toddler Rules, author Jo Frost, calls on parents to be key moral compasses for the kids so as to influence discipline and good behavior with key examples being in management of stress and anger so that how kids throw tantrums is a reflection on how parents deal with everyday situations. Though not the exact element of every parent, Jo emphasizes on the need of parents to guide their kids in behaving right.

Indeed the book is a good read for every parent out there that has given up on managing their kids in the face of a tantrum especially when the societal eyes are at bay in malls and other public arenas that act as grounds for criticism as parents only try their best to get the parenting job right.