How We Handle the Terrible Toddler Stage

All of my readers know, J is going through a bit of a tantrum-y stage, making mommy and daddy nuts. Once we took a step back from the situation,  we realized we weren't handling it well. We stressed when he'd yell, causing more problems. He thrived off of our moods. When we were at the end of our rope with him, he'd go one step further, testing us.





We realized we were going down a bad path when J's teacher said he'd been pushing other kids. That was our wake up call. We adjusted some things that we were doing and it has worked very well! Tantrums are coming in less quantity and we are actually enjoying each other's company again.

1. Time out: J might be one, but he is not exempt from time out. We give him 2 chances. If we tell him no a third time, he goes in the pack n play in a far off corner for 1 minute. We've only been doing this for a few days and have already noticed a huge change. He even stopped shoving at school.

2. Stay calm: Now that we aren't freaking our about him doing the same thing over and over, we are calm about his behavior. We all know that if he does something wrong, third strike results in time out. We no longer get frustrated because we have a plan.

3. Schedule is everything: J wakes up, goes to sleep, eats, naps, and plays at the same time every day. This keeps his frustration down because he knows how his day will be. Babies thrive in routine.

4. Give yourself a break: The H and I have been making it a point to go out with our friends more often (sadly, that means like, twice a month). This gives us time away from the family environment and we appreciate it more when we return.

What do you do to ward off tantrums? Advice is always appreciated!

What I listened to while I wrote:
My bath water! I actually wrote this while taking a nice detox bath.