New fall, new you…er and baby?
It’s not just the weather that is changing, but I can bet that you’ve been seeing new changes in your child as well. Emotion eruptions, shutdowns, breakdowns, tantrums, late nights, not eating etc. They may come ‘all of a sudden’ but actually it could be a bunch of things all at once. New season comes with many new changes, and that can be hard for some children to handle.
Fall comes with new schedules, weather, people, and everything in between. It can be overwhelming and just like us adults, sometimes children just ‘can’t’.
Although it is normal for a toddler to get upset, it’s still not a good time. One way to battle these tantrums is to create smoother transitions. There a few steps to create smoother transitions: time, boundary and following through. Time: begin a ‘count down’ onto the next thing that is about to happen. Example: ‘Ok, when this song is over, it’s time to put on shoes to go to school.’ Obviously do what works in your household, I have seen parents use actual timers, a specific song, sometimes even just a commercial! Boundary: don’t back down, when you say something is going to happen, do your very best to make sure it does. Children are very observant and will notice if these steps do not follow through. Example: ‘Ok the song is over, time to get our shoes on! Looks like you are struggling, let me help you.’ And continue to encourage and firmly state what is going to happen. Follow through is going on the next step. So once the shoes are on, head to school. This can be difficult for families to do if there are multiple things to do before headed out the door. So maybe make the shoes the last thing, or maybe make the commercial be the ‘timer’ before heading out. Once children can follow a pattern their anxiety lessens. This in turn can help them focus on other things, like the task at hand instead of trying to figure out what’s going to happen next. Hope this helps with smoother transactions. Remember communication is key, approach, explain and then do. Have a great fall and good luck to all the new students going back to class this year!!
