If you’re a parent of a toddler, chances are you’ve experienced the dreaded tantrum. You know, the kind of screaming, crying, and body-convulsing outburst that can make the otherwise rational adult lose their cool. But before you throw your hands in the air, take a deep breath and hear me out—understanding toddlers’ tantrums is not impossible.
The truth is that toddlers aren’t having tantrums to spite us. They have tantrums because they don’t yet have the ability to communicate or process emotions like adults do. That’s why understanding toddlers’ tantrums requires more than simple discipline—it requires empathy and an understanding of developmental pathways.
In this article, I’ll provide all the ins and outs of dealing with toddlers’ tantrums through understanding their developmental pathways. What are these pathways? How do they affect our parenting strategies? Keep reading to find out!

The Science Behind Toddler Tantrums

If you’ve ever struggled to understand why toddlers throw tantrums, you’re not alone! It can be confusing and frustrating to figure out how to manage these outbursts, but the science behind toddler tantrums can help shed some light on the situation.
By understanding the developmental pathways that cause these reactions, parents can better anticipate and manage them. To start off, toddlers’ brains are not yet fully developed, so their ability to control their emotions is limited. This often leads them to get overwhelmed with feelings—especially when they don’t get what they want—and erupt with anger or sadness.
Additionally, toddlers have difficulty with communication due to their limited vocabulary and lack of understanding of abstract concepts. This often results in a feeling of frustration which can quickly escalate into a full-blown tantrum if left unresolved.
Finally, toddlers are still learning about social boundaries and may push against them in an attempt to get their way. It’s important for parents to recognize this behavior and provide gentle but firm guidance in order to teach appropriate social behaviors.
By recognizing these pathways, parents can gain a better understanding of how and why their toddlers may be having tantrums—and how they can help manage them more effectively.

The Social Side of Emotional Development

We all know that toddlers can throw some serious tantrums. But what you might not realize is why they get so emotional in the first place. It turns out, a lot of it has to do with their social development.
When toddlers play, they’re learning how to interact with other kids and adults in their environment. They learn how to take turns, share, cooperate and problem-solve. Most of the time this goes smoothly, but occasionally there are conflicts—like when someone takes a toy away or will not share—and these conflicts lead to tantrums.
At this age, most children don’t have the ability to size up a situation quickly or communicate their emotions effectively, which leads to frustration and even anger. That’s why it’s important for us as parents and caregivers to help provide them with a safe and supportive environment where they can learn these social skills without feeling overwhelmed or anxious.

Tips for Dealing With Strong Feelings in Toddlers

Raising toddlers can be a challenging journey, and it’s important to understand how to manage their strong feelings when they come up, especially when it leads to a tantrum. Here are three tips for dealing with strong emotions in toddlers:
Teach Breathing Exercises
Sometimes our little ones can get caught up in their emotions and need help pulling themselves back down. Showing your toddler breathing exercises helps them take the time they need to calm down and regroup on their own terms. Demonstrate what this looks like by taking slow, deep breaths yourself and explain that this is something they can do when they need a break or feel overwhelmed.
Connect With Empathy
It’s important to connect with our children when they’re in tantrum mode, not just lecture them on what they are doing wrong. A great way to do this is through empathy, from understanding their point of view and how their feelings make sense in the situation. They’ll know that you care about how they’re feeling and won’t be as frustrated if you let them know it’s ok for them to feel what they are feeling.
Create an Opportunity for Expression
Encouraging your toddler to express themselves through words rather than actions can help prevent tantrums from spiraling out of control. Ask questions about why they’re upset or talk about how you would handle the same situation – this will encourage them to express their feelings too and hopefully help lead to understanding between the two of you.
By using these tips, you’ll have more success managing your toddler’s strong emotions while helping them become emotionally aware individuals who can better handle those big feelings as they grow up!
Understanding Power Struggles With Toddlers
Toddlers are still learning the basics of social behavior and asserting themselves, which sometimes leads to power struggles. It can often feel like a battle of wills between parent and child, but understanding what’s behind the tantrums can help you manage them better.
While it may be hard to accept in the moment, power struggles with toddlers is a natural part of their development isn’t something that should be ignored or discouraged. Instead, try to remember that they’re not trying to cause trouble—they’re just exploring what they can and cannot do.
Power struggles can be avoided by setting firm boundaries with your toddler from the start, so they understand what is expected of them. This should help reduce their need to test those boundaries with tantrums or other forms of misbehavior.
It’s also important to remember that toddlers need attention, love and approval from their parents—especially during times when they are overwhelmed or struggling with emotions. Taking the time to listen, show empathy and offer encouragement will help your toddler feel secure and more easily manage intense emotions without resorting to power struggles.

Strategies for Creating a Safe Environment for Managing Emotions

If your toddler is throwing a tantrum, there are strategies you can use to create a safe and nurturing environment for them. With the right environment, your child can learn to better manage their emotions and express themselves without resorting to tantrums.
Here are some tips for creating a safe environment for managing tantrums

The post A Guide to Understanding Toddler Tantrums Through Developmental Pathways appeared first on Cherished Legacy Academy.

Chewbacca

Chewbacca is a classic recess game with a really fun name. Your students will love the idea of this outdoor game and will be able to play in groups as well as socially distanced if needed.

Bubbles

Bubbles will certainly be a hit with the littlest recess participants. While bubbles are fun on their own, they can also be used in a number of fun activities and recess games.

Four Square

A competitive game that is constantly rotating students in and out is Four Square. This super fun game can be played in any playground and students will love the competition that comes with it.

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PARTNERS IN PEN

Guests work in pairs, back-to-back. Each team is given a paper bag with household items/toys. One team member draws what the other is describing to them, but the name of the item and what it is used for cannot be spoken. If the partner draws/figures out what the item is, the team makes a point. The team with the most points wins.

ELEPHANT MARCH

This game means you have got to wear pantyhose on your head…weighted with a tennis or baseball. While you’re in this elephant-like disguise, you knock over target bottles with your new trunk. This one is always good for lots of laughs!

OPPOSITES

The goal of this game is for guests to do the opposite of what they’re told. You say, “stick out your right foot” and they stick out their left. You say, “look up” and they look down. However, if they do what you say, they’re out of the game. The last one left wins…little rebel!

SCHEDULE A TOUR

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Alphabet pillow jumping

If your kiddos need to burn off some energy, this letter activity from Toddler Approved will be perfect. Use a stack of paper plates, and write one giant letter on each one. Then use packing tape to secure each plate to a pillow and spread them around the room. Have the kids start on one side of the room and try to jump to the other without touching the floor. As they jump to each new pillow, have them say the letter or letter sound.

Alphabet knock down

Toddler Approved came up with this fantastic letter recognition game, especially recommended for kids who love knocking things over. The preparation is minimal and only requires a pool noodle, some popsicle sticks and letter stickers. Once you’ve made the letters on their pool-noodle feet, give your child a ball, call out a letter and see if they can knock it down!

Children’s book in a bottle

Storytime has a hands-on element with Deborah J. Stewart’s discovery bottles activity. These cheap and completely customizable literacy tools could be thrown together in an afternoon as a kinesthetic addition to your kids’ favorite stories. Stewart has her students pass the bottle around while she reads them a story in class. She reports that the bottles keep her students calm while engaging more of their attention in the story. Her post on Teach Preschool includes directions, materials and even pictures for easy reference.

SCHEDULE A TOUR

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Here are a few tips to help make the transition to preschool a smooth one.

Play school together at home

Use pretend play to help your child get used to the idea of preschool. Take turns acting out different routines like story time, singing songs and nap time. You can also switch up the roles and let your child be the teacher. This will help your child think of school as a fun place and reduce anxiety on day one.

Turn getting-ready skills into a game

Practice fastening buttons and zippers, putting on a backpack and hanging a coat or jacket on a hook. You could turn putting on shoes into a game – see how fast you can do it!

Listen to your child

Ask your little one about their feelings about going to school and reassure them that it is normal to feel excited, worried or any other emotions. Starting something new can feel scary and big – but it can also be lots of fun! Reassure your child that you will be there to pick them up at the end of the day and talk about what those routines will look like, too.

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