Why Children Scream: How to Act in Such a Situation?
Although it can be an easy stage to overcome with your help, your children may continue their screaming habits if provoked by their environment. Children scream to get attention. If you want to find a solution to these situations, this article will help you.
Why children scream
Here are just a few common reasons why children scream, not factoring in their tone of voice or the time of day that they scream.
To get your attention
When children are young, they don’t know how to handle their tone of voice well. They also don’t recognize what volume to use at a certain moment. For that reason, it’s normal for episodes to occur in which they scream to show you something that excites them.
Through a conversation, you should teach your children what mode to express themselves in while in public and give them simple reasons they can understand.
A tantrum to get something
When you deny your children something, a tantrum is sure to follow. The screaming immediately starts, accompanied by crying episodes and dramatic fits.
These tantrums occur both inside and outside the home. They’re typically common in 2 to 4 year olds. In this case, your reaction to tantrums serves a key role in gradually resolving the issue.
By imitation
Children learn by imitation, and so they may have learned to express themselves by screaming from a family member. Work with them to control their tone of voice in an intimate environment.
How to act if my children are screaming
If a tantrum occurs, remain firm. Don’t give in to what your children want. This will teach them to express themselves. Little by little, they’ll understand that they can’t always get what they want.
Try to negotiate with them. For example, offer them a sweet treat if they agree to help you with household chores. Tell them that only they can do that particular chore and no one else.
Don’t scream at your children, because in the long run, that will only make the problem worse. You’re teaching them that screaming is a valid way to respond or that the one who screams the loudest is the winner.
What should I do so that my children don’t scream?
The objective is to get them to understand that screaming won’t accomplish anything. Have a conversation with your children and explain to them that it’s hard to understand them when they scream. Or if they scream too many times, it will mess up their voice.
If your children are still too young to understand the conversation, use the following tips:
- Satisfy their basic needs. If you and your children are going to be away from home for prolonged periods of time, make sure they’ve eaten, slept, and used the bathroom beforehand. This will help them not to become cranky and throw a tantrum.
- Set aside time for screaming with them. Turning it into a screaming match is the best way to ensure their cooperation. This will also calm their urges to scream or raise their voice while talking. In the end, tell them that they should now speak softer.
- Keep it entertaining. Make it part of the activities that you do, so that they don’t have the opportunity to consider having a tantrum.
- Congratulate them for good behavior. Tell them that you’re very happy with their behavior and reward them for it. Of course, you shouldn’t do that while they’re having a tantrum, since they’ll associate that as a way of getting what they want.
It’s important to be patient, since children tend to easily forget what they’ve been taught. Because of that, you’ll need to be persistent in order to get your child to stop screaming.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.