Try to avoid those scenarios, or be ready to hold your child’s hand (literally and emotionally) when those instances come up. Pay attention to these cues so you can anticipate aggressive behavior. Know your toddler’s triggers. Tired, hungry, overstimulated and stressed out - all of these can cause a toddler to react badly.The AAP also recommends that bedrooms be media-free zones without TVs, computers or smartphones, and limiting screen time (to just video chatting until 18 months and limited doses of high-quality programming between 18 and 24 months and no more than one hour a day of high-quality programming between ages 2 and 5).
Try to avoid access to toy weapons, the local news on TV or her older sib’s inappropriate video games.
Make it short and sweet. For a toddler who is acting aggressively, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends against spanking, reprimanding harshly or yelling. The best reaction is a minimal one.Keep your cool. Difficult though it may be, strive to not freak out. If your reaction is outsized and dramatic, you can bet she’ll file away “punching” as a surefire strategy to get lots of attention next time.Try your best to remain calm - and then consider these tips when facing toddler aggression: Group Play for Toddlers Strategies to handle aggressive behavior in your toddler To them, there's not much difference between smacking a toy and smacking a friend and they consider every object in sight to be “theirs.” Lastly, toddlers are naturally egocentric, lacking empathy, impulse control and social skills. What’s more, some toddlers don’t even need the motivation of anger - for attention-seeking (or high-energy) tots, the sheer excitement that comes with being aggressive may be all that’s needed to get physical.īeing overtired and peckish can bring out a toddler’s worst, too. Even kids from the most easygoing homes may lash out with feet, fists or teeth - and when they’re overwhelmed with frustration or fury, they skip over “using their words” in favor of their bodies (watch out!).Ī toddler may not have a lot to say, but she’s got very strong opinions, and if her words fail to get the message across, she’ll quickly turn to a more primitive means of communication.
Wondering what’s triggering these less-than-lovely actions? Chalk them up to a limited vocabulary, excess energy reserves and sometimes plain ol’ hunger and fatigue. What causes aggressive behavior in toddlers?