A child’s temper tantrum can be one of the most exhausting and embarrassing stressors in parenting, especially if it occurs in public. You may be asking yourself silently, “Why is she doing this to me when we have so much to do today?”
“The tantrum really isn’t about us. It’s about our child,” said Debbie Pincus, MS LMHC, in Empoweringparents.com. “While it’s easy to personalize your child’s tantrum and feel like it’s about you when it’s happening, trust me, it’s really about your child. Try asking yourself at those times, ‘What is most important: What others think of me, or what I think an effective parent would do right now?’”
Pincus said parents should explain to others around them (if necessary) that their child is having a hard time. Then excuse yourself and move out of the situation. “Leave the room, go to the car, or go home. Do whatever you need to do quickly and matter-of-factly,” she said. “Remember, you don’t want to give the tantrum attention, either positively or negatively.”
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