I didn't do this with my 1st DD, but I see it working with my 2nd, so I thought I'd share.
Oftentimes, I read advice that says you should explain to your child why some bad thing (in their eyes) is happening. You know-- "You hit me with the toy, so now we are going to put the toy away." At a certain age, maybe that's OK. However, I have found that this does not work well with (my) toddlers. I think that the EXPLANATION can be the cause of the tantrum-- bringing attention to what is now gone, why the "bad thing" happened. A toddler does not care why the bad thing happened (generally); he or she just knows that their world has been controlled by someone else, and like most of us, this is extremely frustrating. The explanation just rubs it in, so to speak.
So, what I do (and I'm sure this won't work every time, because nothing ever does!) is:
(In my above example) If taking the toy away is a must (and sometimes, it is, because you are getting hurt and nothing else is working)
(1) Take the toy away
(2) SAY NOTHING
(3) Move onto some other great activity
Oftentimes, I read advice that says you should explain to your child why some bad thing (in their eyes) is happening. You know-- "You hit me with the toy, so now we are going to put the toy away." At a certain age, maybe that's OK. However, I have found that this does not work well with (my) toddlers. I think that the EXPLANATION can be the cause of the tantrum-- bringing attention to what is now gone, why the "bad thing" happened. A toddler does not care why the bad thing happened (generally); he or she just knows that their world has been controlled by someone else, and like most of us, this is extremely frustrating. The explanation just rubs it in, so to speak.
So, what I do (and I'm sure this won't work every time, because nothing ever does!) is:
(In my above example) If taking the toy away is a must (and sometimes, it is, because you are getting hurt and nothing else is working)
(1) Take the toy away
(2) SAY NOTHING
(3) Move onto some other great activity
