Being the parent of a toddler is not for the faint of heart. Known for their famous public protests and frequent refusals to cooperate, toddlers can be challenging to keep in check during these younger years.
While it’s perfectly normal and ordinary for this period of a child’s life to be challenging, there may be deeper underlying causes which you should consider. If your toddler is acting out more than usual and you feel like something else may be at work, here are some of the things you might want to consider may be causing their behavioral flare-ups.
Troubles At Home
Although many parents may be under the impression that their toddlers can’t understand what’s going on when they witness arguing or tensions at home, they couldn’t be more wrong. Toddlers may not have a literal understanding word for word, but they can feel the meaning behind what you’re saying.
Additionally, they’re very sensitive to people they love being absent. In many cases, families going through divorces may take the child from seeing one of their parents. Or perhaps someone the family goes to jail which causes the child to feel abandoned and confused. Try to examine whether their tantrums started around the same window of time as the troubles at home.
Lack Of Language
Toddlers tend to get very frustrated by not being understood. The majority of the time the reason for their behavioral issues are attributed to not being understood when they’re trying to express themselves.
By taking the time to explore what your toddler really wants rather than dismissing their screaming as merely a tantrum, you’ll be surprised to find that their needs were quite simple. By taking the time to look deeper into what they were trying to explain but didn’t have the language for, they’ll feel more secure and less angry.
Overtired
When children don’t get enough sleep, you may think that they get drowsy. However, most children react to being overtired with extreme bouts of fussiness and hyperactivity.
Once a toddler has surpassed the tired stage, they move into a hysterical state which can be challenging to get out of. Try to stay consistent with nap and bedtimes in order to avoid this from happening.
Medical Condition
In some cases, tantrums are a symptom of a deeper problem. Since there are so many possibilities, there is no one way to tell. However, it’s worth talking to your doctor about whether they see any symptoms of food allergies or things which could be causing them to feel discomfort.
Since toddlers don’t have the language to express where their discomfort is, often their only outlet is to scream.