Tantrums: Part 2

When your child is engaging in undesired behaviors, such as screaming, yelling, hitting, or throwing objects, it is important to ignore this behavior to the extent possible, barring physical danger or risk. When you engage in purposeful ignoring of a behavior, you are removing reinforcement of the behavior by not attending to it. If you are required to intervene due to risk, do not converse, show your emotion nonverbally, or provide much eye contact. If needed, you may provide an authoritative prompt, for example, “You may not throw objects.” Remove the object or situation creating risk and then yourself to avoid engagement during the tantrum. After things have settled down, you can have a brief discussion, ideally 5 minutes or less, and may give a consequence, such as a loss of a privilege or a fine, for any damage that occurred.

By purposefully ignoring undesired behavior and instead attending to and reinforcing desired behaviors consistently, you can reduce the frequency and intensity of tantrums.

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