Toddlers and Challenging Behavior: Why They Do It and How to Respond

Recommended Reading: Toddlers and Challenging Behavior: Why They Do It and How to Respond by Zero to Three

The year between age 2 and age 3 is an exciting one. Toddlers are realizing that they are separate individuals from their parents and caregivers. This means that they are driven to assert themselves, to communicate their likes and dislikes, and to act independently (as much as they can!). Toddlers are also developing the language skills that help them express their ideas, wants, and needs…

A really great article on why toddlers act out and what you can do to help them learn self-control and appropriate expression. The piece below really stood out to me. It’s absolutely true, and often time challenging behavior in older kids has been learned when they are younger as a way to cope. It’s easier to teach them appropriate behaviors from the start than for kids to unlearn a behavior when they are older.

When you see challenging behavior, it usually means that your child can’t figure out how to express her feelings in an acceptable way or doesn’t know how to get a need met. What helps your child learn is when your response shows her a different, more constructive way to handle these feelings. Read the full article.