How to Enrage a Toddler

Say no.

Since my posts are typically longer than two words, I’ll expound. But it did seem a natural ending point.

You could also take something away, tell them it’s time for bed, or that he needs to eat his vegetables. You could try to urge him along on his walk home. Any or all of it is likely to end in a temper tantrum.

You know how your toddler’s vocabulary is improving? The ever-changing demands that they make. Some don’t seem entirely unpredictable, and some certainly catch you off guard. Some are made at a reasonable point, and some need to be met with a stern “no.”

Here is a short list of what we might hear on a typical day, sometimes all before breakfast:

• “Watch TV?”
• “Play books?”
• “Play cars?”
• “Play toys?”
• “Outside?”
• “Cat? Cat? Where’s cat?”
• “Cheerios at the table?”
• “Take a bath?”
• “Go night night?”

Jamie has made all these demands at one time or another, even the last two. I’m sure he’s made others I can’t think of right now. When he gets an idea for what he wants to do in his head, he repeats it. Over and over and over and over and over again.

I hope he can keep his passion and conviction for the things he wants when he sets career goals as an adult. Meanwhile, his mother and I feel/sound like a broken record.

On the flip side, an other way to enrage a toddler is to take them away from what they want to be doing, because it is time to do something else. Naively, I tend to offer the upcoming activity as an option, hoping that he’ll jump up and be ready to move on. IT NEVER HAPPENS THAT WAY.

For example, if he’s playing outside and it is time for dinner, the transition can be a process. It doesn’t matter if you are serving his favorite food in the world, the fact he is now headed toward the house is enough to send him into a little toddler fury. Nine times out of 10 he’s better once he realizes he’ll be eating something he likes. It just takes some time and emotional expenditure to realize he’ll be fine.

The turn around time is typically very quick and he really is a happy toddler. But he knows what he wants, and he is extremely particular. Once he figures out that what you might want him to do next isn’t all that bad, he might even come around and enjoy himself again.

 

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