#Collaborative post
As parents, it is normal to feel worried when it comes to your child managing their emotions well. At the end of the day, it is emotions that lead us to make decisions in our lives and can be the main cause of getting into trouble and going off track. Of course, there needs to be discipline when it comes to children, otherwise they would have no clue what the correct way to behave is. Setting limits to actions does not necessarily set limits on how a person should feel. Using punishments does not stop a child from being upset, it just means they will suppress it and express it in a different way that could end up being more explosive and damaging. The best thing to do is to teach children the correct way to handle big emotions so they behave well in school and outside of it as well.
Model the healthy behaviour yourself. Showing your child how to manage big emotions can be the best way for them to avoid explosive tantrums. Children only have tantrums due to the fact that they cannot understand and handle what they are feeling and therefore, lash out in the only way they know will get them attention; making noise. If you show your child that talking things through instead of screaming, crying, yelling and being disrespectful when predicaments occur, they will most likely create a good healthy habit of managing their emotions.
Prioritise a deep nurturing connection with your child. As babies, parents will be the ones to provide comfort and support to their little ones when experiencing pain or sadness. When children grow older, they gain the capability of being able to regulate and understand their own emotions which is why parents detach. However, grown children still need that same support and love especially when they are unable regulate themselves emotionally. When kids feel happy, they want to cooperate and listen. This usually eliminates bad behaviour.
Guide your child whilst resisting the urge to punish them when things get too much. Raising a child is difficult and parents only have so much patience. However, spankings, time outs and consequences don’t give children the support they need when it comes to dealing with their emotions. Instead, it teaches them that when they expose the way they feel, they will be punished for it. Eventually, they will grow to keep their emotions concealed and struggle with managing them later on in life.
They key is to do the hard work now to help them in the future.