Advice from experts at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

If have a child, you’ve dealt (or will deal) with a tantrum— there’s no way of getting around them. The most important thing to do is to remain composed and remember that kids learn by example. If you remain calm, your child is more likely to calm down too. By ignoring tantrums, you’ll let your child know that nothing is achieved by yelling and screaming.

DON’T

• Get angry or yell at your child. That only makes a bad situation worse.
• Give in to tantrums.
• Try to reason with your child when he or she is in the middle of a tantrum.
• Hit your child during a tantrum.

DO

• Maintain your composure.
• Remain in charge; acting like you’re in charge will make you feel like you’re in charge.
• Tell your child that his or her behavior is unacceptable.
• Give your child a very simple choice — calm down or we will leave right now. If it’s not possible to leave, let your child know that  he or she will receive a punishment, such as a time-out, at home.
• Ignore a tantrum when you are at home. Your child needs to learn that such behavior will not be rewarded.
• Wait until your child has calmed down to talk about his or her behavior.

Children’s Hospital offers Positive Parenting classes and other parenting workshops. For more information, call the Community Education Department at 412-692-7105.