Oh, the dreaded terrible two’s. As much as I’d like to stay positive and call it the terrific two instead, I can’t deny there are days when Lauren drives me nuts with her snappy moods and temper tantrums.

So the question on every parents of toddlers is how do we deal with tantrums? The easiest way is to give in to whatever your child wants but we could end up spoiling them. Yes, spoiling a child is possible according to Julia Gabriel, founder director of Julia Gabriel Centre and an educator for more than 31 years.

I attended her talk on Positive Discipline a month ago and learnt a way to deal with Lauren’s tantrums. Nick and I have been following these steps. Although it is surprisingly simple, it does work. Kind of made me go, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Anyway, the next time you see your child is about to have a meltdown, follow these steps to stop temper tantrum in its track.

1. Pick the child up.
2. Walk away from the scene and continue with whatever you were doing before the tantrum starts.
3. Once the child calms down, talk about why he/she was upset, labeling the correct emotion, and discuss how the child can react if faced with similar situation in the future.

What not to do during a tantrum in 2-3 years old

> Walk away or abandon the child. They may throw themselves on to the floor and get hurt.
> Try to reason during the tantrum. Wait until the child calms down.
> Never give in to a tantrum and delay the consequences. This may confuse the child.
> Shame the child to stop. Teach a child to accept that emotions like anger does happen, and how he/she can express it positively.
> Spank the child. They are too young to understand and may exacerbate the crying to the point where the child is unable to stop. You are also teaching them that hitting is ok.