11 Toddler Behavior Problems & How To Deal

Toddlers often tantrum, strike, bite, scream, and behave badly. You can discourage and teach healthier behavior.

Aggression, Hitting, & Biting

Your beautiful two- or three-year-old may be biting and kicking everyone. He or she may be trying to catch your attention. Avoid responding to them every time since this might become a habit. Like other comparable habits, this one will eventually go.

How to Handle It

Make sure your youngster understands that these aggressive behaviors might have repercussions. Instead of yelling, put them in the "naughty" chair until they calm down.

Interrupting

Your youngster will want to tell things before they forget them since their short-term memory is still developing. Though the child doesn't understand, this may interrupt.

How to Handle It

Schedule time with friends where your child may play with other kids or toys while you speak. Show your youngster this behavior with your spouse. In such a case, minimize interruptions and redirect the child's focus.

Lying

Until three or four, your kid may be unable to tell reality from fiction. He or she doesn't know what the truth or lying is. They may create fictional animals and people at this age and deny scribbling on the wall or spilling milk.

How to Handle It

Accusing your kid won't help. Instead, create a setting or discussion to make them confess. If you overload your youngster with rules, he or she may lie. Create a trusting atmosphere and tell them you trust them too.

Pulling Hair

Like kicking and biting, hair-pulling expresses sentiments and controls the surroundings. Hair pulling gets kids a response from parents and siblings. If he or she pulls their own hair, it may be an impulsive control condition. If they pull others' hair, they enjoy the response.

How to Handle It

Show them that pulling hair won't work. Stop the behavior when you observe it and explain it doesn't work for them or others. Tell them this doesn't change the other person's behavior.

Running Away

Your child darts away when you pull them from the car seat, place them on the sidewalk, and turn around to wrangle the stroller out of the trunk. When you catch up to them, it's obvious that they'd rather walk independently than take the stroller along today. They aren't intentionally nasty or defiantly running away from you. It's only that now they're free and able to run on their own two feet. That's the desire that drives the current predicament.

How to Handle It

Keep your kid safe since no amount of instruction will make them cautious. That involves being hypervigilant about making your child's surroundings safe. These tips can help you keep an eye on your curious child:

Stay close to them
Show them where they can run
Engage and entertain them
Encourage them when they do well
Keep them in the stroller

Screaming

Your little one is energetic and has probably discovered they can scream and yell. Because every time they do this, you hurry to them and pay attention; they believe it works to get positive attention. Since children don't realize yelling is bad, they don't associate it with anger.

How to Handle It

Screaming back at your child may encourage them to yell. You may show them how to speak softly. Ask them loudly. Ask them to repeat. Ask the youngster to speak softly next time they yell. Make sure you speak softly.

Tattling

Children may tattle for power, self-esteem, or attention. Tattling may indicate that your youngster understands rules and knows right from wrong. It might also warn you of an imminent threat. Some youngsters tattle because they lack the emotional and social abilities to handle difficulties. Older children who look out for younger ones may observe and report their conduct.

How to Handle It

Investigate. Take stock before labeling your kid a whining tattletale. You don't want your kid to come to you with every problem, but they should feel comfortable asking for assistance. It helps to let him know what you want them to talk about. Discuss options. Your child needs direction, not tattling, in challenging situations.

Teasing

Teasing is an inevitable part of childhood. As you've undoubtedly seen, all children learn that words are powerful, and sooner rather than later. Early elementary kids typically tease others to get peer acceptance or to point out perceived defects and distinctions to boost their self-esteem.

How to Handle It If Your Kid Is Being Teased

You can't stop kids from taunting your child, but you can educate them on how to handle it:

Feel their anguish. Acknowledge that teasing hurts. Reassure your kid. Encourage them to spend time with children who like them and make them feel good.
Guide them. Tell your grade-schooler that although they can't control what other kids say, they can control their reactions. Ask them how they would handle the taunting, and help them brainstorm.
Teach them to ask for assistance. It takes maturity to shrug off taunting, so don't expect a stiff upper lip.

How to Handle It If Your Kid Is The One Teasing

Be calm. Keep your calm when you find out your child teases others.
Emphasize compassion. Talking to your grade-schooler about how their insults affect others helps them empathize.
Reduce the teasing's fundamental rivalry. If your grade-schooler teases their brother, they may only want more attention.

Throwing Tantrums

From one to three, your baby experiences many emotions. Though they understand you, they may not be able to communicate. This frustrates kids and causes tantrums. Tantrums include crying, yelling, and throwing items.

How to Handle It

Staying cool is the easiest approach to handling toddler behavior like this. Do not shout or scold your child. If you yell and scream, things might become worse. Hold the child's hand at eye level. As you hold them, the kid will relax. Repeat your love, and everything will be OK. Let your kid cry it out if nothing works and then gently explain.

Throwing Things

Toddlers love throwing stuff. No surprise your child wants to practice this thrilling skill! Throwing requires hand-eye coordination and fine motor abilities to open the fingers and let go. For you, it's frustrating when spaghetti covers your freshly scrubbed kitchen floor or a clean pacifier falls on a muddy sidewalk. Still, for your toddler, it's enjoyable, developmentally appropriate, and an opportunity to learn new skills.

How to Handle It

You can't stop your child from tossing.
Toddlers play and explore the world in this way.
Unless your toddler is in danger of hurting themselves or others or breaking a window, don't reprimand them.
Set a good example.

Whining

Just imagine. Your kid relies on you for food, water, assistance, and even toilet training. To catch your attention, they cry or whine. They think their mother would give them everything this way, which becomes their regular behavior.