Ep #132: Helping a child calm down from a tantrum

Have you ever wondered how to help your child when they are out of control? Are you unsure of what to do when your child is tantruming or defiant, and nothing seems to be working?  On today's podcast, Parenting Coach Siope Kinikini is joined by Naomi Halterman, director of training at Utah Youth Village. In this episode, they discuss what parents can do to help their child when their child is feeling out of control by using the behavior skills of the Teaching-Family Model. Dealing with a child who is throwing a tantrum is never easy as it requires a lot of patience to get them back into control.  A child's tantrum can involve anger, crying, defiance, or even ignoring you and will look different in younger kids versus older kids. When teaching to a child's tantrum, remember that your goal is to help them get to a state where they can do what is asked of them without resorting to tantrum behaviors. No matter what tantrum behavior they are experiencing, how you address it remains the same. You address tantrum behaviors by giving them small instructions to calm down and continually give that instruction until they comply.  Giving the same instruction repeatedly without a child doing it is hard for many parents. Providing the same instruction repeatedly without getting angry or frustrated signals to your child that they have permission to calm down and that you aren't mad with them for feeling overwhelmed and out of control, which is very comforting to your child. You're going to enjoy listening to Naomi and her experience with working with the Teaching-Family Model. We can't wait for you to take a listen. To learn more about the behavior skills talked about in this episode, visit SmarterParenting.com.