Temper Tantrum Advice for Sensitive Kids

Give her time to calm down, when my daughter gets like this I give her space and tell her when she’s ready to she can come and talk to me about what’s bothering her etc. it can take ages but after she finishes kicking off she will always come for a cuddle and be much calmer. Definitely don’t hit, just walk away and give them space

@Ellie Thanks so much I’ll give that a try

My 4 year old has ADHD and she tries to control EVERYTHING and if things aren’t perfect she is just inconsolable. I have her go sit on her bed to take some breaths and I let her no it’s not time out it’s so she can calm down. Then I go talk to her and tell her things don’t have to be perfect it’s okay or that she isn’t in control of things because she is not the grown up she needs to let things be it’s okay. My 3 year old also throws tantrums (but that’s just when she is overly tired and not wanting to sleep) and I hold her in my lap in a semi tight hug with her arms pin down and rock side to side and that calms her down so she can focus on breathing because I stay calm.

I work as an RBT for really young kiddos diagnosed with autism. Of course each child is different but some things that work for our kiddos are 1) naming random things in the room. I see a blue bookshelf, I see a red chair, I see books, I hear music, I feel wind. Etc… anything that will bring them out of the moment and big emotions and back into their bodies 2) deep pressure. I have a kiddo that has big tantrums and scratch’s and hits but we have taught him to squeeze his hands together when he gets big feelings. Mimicking this during a tantrum by squeezing his hands together and saying “when I get (nervous, sad, etc.) I can squeeezeee” 3) also giving them validation always helps my kiddos. “It’s okay to be sad. We can use our words to ask for what we need.” When the really young ones are in a huge tantrum their entire functioning brain is offline. They won’t be able to communicate or answer most questions until they regulate. This usually means for us only using VERY few words.

Hope any of that helps. Again every kid is sooooo different. You can also look up some of the ABA therapy methods and implement on your own. They have some good stuff around emotional regulation.

I’ll definitely try these methods @Isabella

@Paige I’ll give the rocking a try also

When I was a teacher, I had a feeling board, so my non-verbal kids could point out what they felt and another board with what they would like for help. I.E. do you need a hug? Do you need rest? Everything was in a picture