toddler behavior

How’s your toddler treating you? Starting around 14 months or so, when children start to individuate from their mothers, and stretch their little wings, look out, parents, tantrums are on the horizon. I’ve written about tantrums since SuperBoy was around 14 months. I have an entire section of this site devoted to Toddler Behavior, mostly because I find it perplexing and fascinating all at once. I’ve written about everything from Teaching Toddler Independence & Toothbrushing to Tantrums Abound . . . HELP! and so much more in between. SuperBoy is just over 2 years old now, and if you have a child around that age, and are struggling with dealing with the constant meltdowns and tantrums, here’s our 3 step method that may help you, too. 1) Tantrum sparks. You begin your mantra. SuperBoy takes my hairbrush and bangs it repeatedly on the side of the bathtub while awaiting his turn for a bath. I ask him politely not to do that. He stops. He starts again a few moments later. I remind him. He pauses, then resumes. I ask him to hand me the brush (he refuses) so I remove it from his hands calmly while he begins to melt. I note, “I asked you nicely to stop. You didn’t listen to mama. You chose to lose the hairbrush.” He cries and screams for it back. I stay calm and ignore his behavior, but repeat my iteration of what happened so he gets an idea of the sequence of events.…