If you encounter moody children throwing tantrums know that this is a common occurrence in children. Despite the common perception that only adults tend to have mood swings, child development experts suggest that being moodier is prevalent among children. Children, particularly young ones, are prone to becoming moody and gloomy, however, some children tend to have more mood swings than others.
This behaviour in children may be attributed to their inability to express intense emotions, such as disappointment and dissatisfaction. While dealing with a moody child might be unpleasant, you have no choice but to manage your child.
Here are a few guidelines that need to be remembered when you as a parent handle moody children.
1. Spend some quality time with children
How you bring up your child makes a lot of difference. No matter how busy you are, it is important to spend quality time with your child. Children feel secure with parental attention. Ideally, both parents should spend quality time with their children.
2. Allow them to express him/herself
Your home should be the place where your child can express himself without any fear. Sometimes children get moody, as they do not know what to do. Children adopt passive behaviour to showcase their displeasure.
3. Encourage positive behaviour
It is important that both of you, mother and father, sit together to come up with methods of expression for your child. You can bring to his/her attention that instead of sulking, they can communicate the problem with their parents.
4. Stay calm
Make sure you do not overreact when your child is being moody. This will only give them more power to show bad behaviour.
5. Validate their feelings
The best thing you can do is let them express their dissatisfaction and validate, rather than ignore them. Validation helps you and them, and you can suggest some solutions.
6. Allot them scheduled time for whining
Allot a special time just for complaining. Tell your young one that during this time, he/she can talk about things that bother them. If the time is over, ask him/her to continue with the complaint list the next day. When there is a complaining slot, your son/daughter will have to think of the things they want to complain about. The method, eventually, will reduce their habit of complaining and whining.
Handling tantrums and mood swings are difficult and challenging for the parents. However healthy nutrition as well as less sugar content also help them to calm down a bit along with the above-mentioned points.
