Not every parent knows what child hysteria is. Sharp emotional outbursts are inherent in almost all children and up to a certain age there is no need to worry too much about them. Up to two years, tantrums and sharp emotional changes in the baby are predictable and even expected, however, if they often occur already at school or even preschool age, they may indicate problems with emotional self-regulation in the child.
Self-regulation is essentially the ability to correct behaviors and emotions according to the situation. It is also about being able to calm down and adapt to the situation and circumstances, and working out frustration without a flash of anger. Simply put, self-regulation emotionally distinguishes a two-year-old child from a five-year-old and is formed thanks to acquired skills.
The ability to adjust their behavior in accordance with the circumstances appears gradually – the older the child, the better he can regulate his own emotions. If at a certain age the child has not acquired the appropriate skills of emotional self-regulation, then parents should help him with this. There are many training courses on this topic, as well as general tips that will help build emotional self-regulation skills.
First of all, it is worth knowing that problems with self-regulation in different children manifest themselves in different ways: some cannot delay the reaction, so their emotional reaction is instantaneous, while others “accumulate” emotions and seem to explode at a certain moment. In both cases, the child should be taught to express their feelings and emotions in a less destructive and more effective way.
It is important for parents to find a balance between the desire to calm the child and between not succumbing to children’s tantrums. If you constantly satisfy all the whims, just calm down, then it becomes difficult for the child to develop self-discipline: he begins to rely on the parents and expects them to be an external regulator. If this situation is repeated often, then subsequently the child learns this method as the only possible one.
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