6 Reasons Why You Should Be Glad Your Toddler Is Having A Temper Tantrum
The second year of a child's life is not called the terrible twos for nothing. Old enough to talk and walk, but still not old enough to grasp the fact they can't have everything their own way, it's when our little angels are most prone to temper tantrums. And while they are a nightmare at the time, as the old saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.
Just last week, we revealed that children who are more prone to temper tantrums grow up to be more successful. Now, for all you parents of riotous toddlers, we've compiled a list of six reasons why their tantrums are a good thing.
1. They're slowly but surely learning how to handle disappointment.
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Life's full of disappointments, and while not getting permission to eat McDonald's for breakfast every day is mostly a kid problem, it prepares them for bigger problems down the line. Like, y'know, romantic and professional rejection. After all, once we've got a few coping mechanisms for disappointment in place, it's a lot easier to handle.
2. Your kid learns that it's okay to feel things!
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The worst thing that a person can possibly do, regardless of age, is bottle up their emotions. Feeling is okay. And temper tantrums teach kids this. Sure, they also teach them that there is a time and a place, but it's a lesson nonetheless.
3. Tantrums are a natural stress reliever.
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Even we grownups know that when something small sends us over the edge, it can help us get a lot of pent up frustration out of our systems. Sure, your kid might have thrown themselves on the grocery store floor because of a box of Lucky Charms, but maybe they're actually on edge because they didn't get the best sleep the night before.
4. Children are allowed to enjoy crying
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As we grow older, we tend to associate the act of crying with weakness. Kids aren't restrained by this, and it's no bad thing. For now, at least, they'll be less stressed because no one is going to look down on them for getting it out their system!
5. Tantrums help your kids to learn.
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The best lessons in life are hard learned. And because kids are young, everything is new them - even problems that seem ridiculous to us grownups. That's why it's a good thing that they can let us know when they encounter something new. Better still, once they have, they'll have typically learned something for the next time they encounter the issue.
6. Children who throw tantrums have a better handle on their emotions later in life.
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In order to understand the right way to do something, we often have to make a lot of mistakes - and the best time for a person to throw all of their toys out of a pram is when they're still old enough to fit in one. Tantrums are therefore a good thing because they teach children, eventually, that going crazy isn't the best solution to most of life's problems.
So the next time your kid flings themselves down on the floor, arms flailing, take comfort in the knowledge that temper tantrums aren't all bad, and, as much as we'd all like to think we were perfect tots too, we know that wasn't the case!