Saturday, August 15, 2015

Parenting challenges : Dealing with your child's public meltdowns

There was this really interesting topic being discussed on an online forum that I am a part of, just last week.

Q: How do you deal with your child's very loud tantrum in public : Especially if it on a flight where you can't even move out anywhere?


Here is what I wrote :)

I feel envious of all parents who have calm and composed kids on whom traditional parenting strategies have worked. We also thought all kids were nice and calm and manageable because Samarth was and still is one at nearly 9 years.

That was: UNTIL we had Sumedh. Sumedh is mostly a very happy and well adjusted toddler today but prone to bouts of whining and very loud tantrums in public :) On his worst day, we just keep praying that we are out of that place soonest!

We had to learn a lot for Sumedh's sake and I can proudly say that we are on the right track. Almost all of his unnecessary whining and crying in public has stopped because we have introspected.

1.We dont go out during his nap time and if we happen to be out then we do take a break when he can nap.

2. Main meals are always offered on time and snacks are always on hand.

Lack of the above makes him very antsy. We watched his behaviour and saw that  if he was well rested and well fed then he didn't really throw tantrums and scream as much.

Sumedh turned 3 yesterday :D The last 3 years have been quite a journey with him but we have emerged happier and stronger. We stumbled, we learned and are still learning.

The Bottom line: Every child  is different and it is up to the parent to identify the underlying issue and understand it. Children don't throw tantrums for the heck of it. They are sending out signals for something they cannot express.



Resurrected

I am back!! I just realized that my last post on this blog was in November 2020! OMG! How have you all been in the third year of the pandemi...