Parents know all too well how difficult it is to deal with a child’s tantrums. When a child reaches pre-schooler age, this problematic behaviour comes out and parents, not really knowing what to do, just grin and bear it, and just basically brace for the inevitable.
Children can often display “bratty” behaviour either
towards their parents or other people because they cannot properly articulate
their feelings yet or struggle with handling their emotions.
At this age, behaviour regulation, or the ability to use
self-control to behave in socially acceptable ways is not well developed yet.
This can manifest as tantrums and are sometimes triggered by an outburst of
emotions such as anger, frustration, anxiety, and irritability.
To avoid these behaviours among pre-schoolers, parents
should learn how to develop and nurture their child’s emotional intelligence by
teaching them how to better understand and control their emotions.
In his book entitled, “Raising an Emotionally Intelligent
Child; The Heart of Parenting,” Dr. John Gottman offers tips on how parents can
better deal with their child’s emotional outbursts.
He advises parents to become more aware of their child’s
emotions. The first step to improving their behaviour is to recognize that
there is an array of feelings that a child has to deal with, such as
disappointment or anger, which they might not be able to completely understand
yet, or know how to handle.
