The Terrible 2s
Eliana can be the sweetest and most angelic child you could possibly
imagine. However, from time to time she will throw herself into a rage
over the smallest offense imaginable. This morning she went into a rage
because I put milk on her breakfast cereal, and apparently, she didn't
want milk on her cereal.
When Eliana gets in rage mode, she will scream, kick,
bite herself, bite her clothing, and bite others or she will pull at
her hair or scratch herself (and others).
Obviously, if we could
sidestep the triggers which provoke Eliana that would be ideal... but
she has at times gone into a rage instead of stopping bad behavior after
being asked. So some tantrums almost seem unavoidable.
Kristy and I believe the best way to deal with the tantrums is to
respond as positively as possible until the rage passes. Yet, it is
difficult to deal with such irrational behavior and I freely admit
that, at times, I'm not doing a good job at alleviating these
situations and sometimes even exacerbate them. Note to self: a soft
voice and lots of hugs work better than anything else.
Berkeley used to get all tense and clinch his teeth and his arms when he
became upset at that age. I remember we would respond by acting as if
he was flexing his muscles; the result was that the situation turned
into a positive one instead of a negative one. Berkeley can still
throw a fit now and again, but they have become much less frequent.
Hopefully, Eliana will grow out of these rages as well.
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