Is Your Kid Throwing a Tantrum or Having a Breakdown? Learn the Difference

 

Temper tantrums and meltdowns are common in children, especially those between ages 1 and 3.

Is My Child Having a Tantrum or a Breakdown?

These behavioral problems are common occurrences in those children who cannot handle their life and emotions like other kids. Everything that happens in their life, every single inconvenience, can impact them more than you can expect. A simple snapping of their favorite ruler or lightly stubbing their toe can lead to a whole day of tantrums or meltdowns.

So what should you do when your child is lying on the ground in the middle of a restaurant and supermarket, crying and screaming while you stand helpless by their side? Lash out and punish them? Absolutely not! Let them cry the whole day until they quiet down? Not a wise choice.

What Is the Difference Between Tantrum and Meltdown?

Many popular parenting blogs explain how temper tantrums and meltdowns have vast differences between them.

Tantrum is a behavior associated with crying, screaming, kicking, and hitting, sometimes holding breath for a long time, in order to get something or send something away. Toddlers are used to throwing tantrums when they are hungry, tired, uncomfortable, or simply used to getting attention in this way. These anger issues can lead to serious behavioral problems in your child when they grow old, like sibling rivalry and severe anxiety.

Meltdowns, on the other hand, are the inability of the child to regulate their emotions according to their age. When a child feels overwhelmed by a change in their routine, for example, they are feeling hungry but cannot get something to eat, or their parents are not paying attention to them when they want it, they fail to manage a proper and strong emotional reaction and resort to meltdown behaviors.

How Do I Know if My Toddler Has a Tantrum?

Your toddler can have a tantrum at any time, and you must always have many techniques and tricks up your sleeve to deal with these behavioral issues. Tantrums can come in the following shapes and sizes;

·Stiffening limbs.

·Kicking.

·Falling down from high platforms.

·Running about the house.

·Screaming.

·Arching back.

·Holding breath for a long time.

·Vomiting.

·Breaking things.

These tantrums can likely happen due to temperament issues that influence how strongly and quickly children react to frustrating events in their life. They can also happen due to overstimulation which makes it difficult for these children to manage their stress, tiredness, and hunger.

Other situations that feel out of control for children, such as when their parents take their favorite toy away from them or wouldn’t give them the third chocolate of the day, can overwhelm their senses.

How Do I Calm My Child’s Tantrums?

Here are a few things you can do to ensur that your child has fewer tantrums in the future.

1. Be an authoritative parent and support and nurture your child’s emotions to a healthy limit.

2. Identify their trigger factors and avoid them as much as you can.

3. Help your children regulate their emotions from a young age by having a general parenting discussion.

4. Be a positive role model for your children by controlling your own anger and frustration.

5. When your child shows a calm response to a situation, appreciate them and encourage them to do so in the future as well.

What Are Signs of Child Meltdowns?

Symptoms of child meltdowns and emotional regulation issues include;

·Shutting down.

·Curling in a ball.

·Not responding to any tasks.

·Sobbing in response to slight inconvenience.

·Mood swings.

·Overreacting to the simplest situations.

·Fear of sensory overload.

·Emotional response escalates within seconds.

These meltdowns can occur due to many reasons. Either the child’s mood is constantly shifting from happy to overexcitement, frustration, and sadness, which can be a source of concern for the parents. Some mental health conditions such as childhood anxiety, ADHD, ODD, Autism, and trauma can also lead to such behavioral problems in your child.

How Do You Stop a Child’s Meltdown?

According to our parenting forum and community, here are 5 ways how you can diffuse a child’s meltdown.

1. Do not react to your children’s breakdown by a childish temperament of your own.

2. Do not respond to their rude language by punishing or yelling at them.

3. Let your child know that their words are hurting you, and you will only talk to them when they calm down.

4. Acknowledge your child’s feelings and listen to their complaints.

5. Encourage your child to find a relaxing hobby.

ParentingQuestions.Org strives to build a safe and helpful parenting advice blog where you can seek solutions to such mental and emotional problems of your children.