Is your toddler biting, kicking, screaming and lashing out? If you have noticed this type of behavior in your toddler, these are signs that your toddler is to aggressive. Toddlers are the most aggressive group of people there is and they often lash out in violent frustration. Aggressive behavior in toddlers can be triggered by a variety of different things, some of the more common triggers are being tired or hungry and lack of the ability to communicate their feeling and emotions.
Other things that can trigger aggression in toddlers are T.V., video games, friends, family and the way you, as a role model react to everyday hassles. Toddlers will often imitate what they see and hear. Sugar and caffeine are also believed to be able to trigger aggression in some toddlers so limit foods that are high in those things and make sure they are eating healthy foods and maintaining a nutritious diet.
When my son was about 2 years old my husband and I noticed that he was starting to hit other kids when he was angry. Our first instinct was to grab him, yell at him and spank his little butt, and then we stopped and realized that by acting this way we were actually teaching him to be aggressive. We decided a time out would be a better way to teach him how to behave.
You are your toddler’s biggest influence and they behave by example, if when you get mad and start yelling and screaming there is a good chance you toddler will behave the same way. When your toddler is angry and lashing out you need to handle it in a calm voice, if you yell back the situation will only escalate. You need to create consistent consequences or punishment for their bad behavior. Time outs are a great way to teach your child to behave, although when you first start using them is can be quite traumatic for both your toddler and you. Your toddler will most likely not like the time out and throw a tantrum so you may have to actually hold them in time out and talk to them in a calm voice for awhile to get them to calm down, sometimes a rocking motion and singing will help.
If your toddler is fighting over toys with their brother or sister ask them to share them. If that does not work you can limit their time with the toy, each child gets 10 minutes at a time, if neither of those work another solution is to just take that toy away.
Another thing that can trigger aggression in toddlers is being cooped up in the house all day, get them outside to play, let them run around and release some of their never ending energy.
Also make sure you reward your toddler for their cooperation and good behavior, this will teach them that it is a good thing and place the seed for good behavior to grow.
