Understanding Your Child’s Mood Swings

When they are very young, children have yet to learn how to vocalize their frustrations, and often resort to tantrums and fits. Every emotion from mere frustration, to sadness, to absolute fury can result in an all-out, balled-fists and purple-faced screaming session. Typically around the age of two, parents will notice a dramatic increase in mood swings and temper tantrums.

These “terrible twos” are the result of your child’s growing awareness of the world around him, and the cognitive ability to have an opinion about what is going on. Add to that an extremely short attention span, and you have a recipe for exhaustion. It can be hard to deal with these tough moments. After a while, it’s honestly hard not to succumb to a temper tantrum of your own and throw yourself down on the floor alongside your child.

Have Patience

This too shall pass. Although being a parent through these tough phases can be scream inducing, time will pass and things will get better. In the meantime, do your best to be patient with your child. She is learning so much at once; it’s no wonder she is confused and frustrated. Try putting yourself in her shoes and try to imagine what could be making her so upset.
Take a deep breath and take it one step at a time.

Talk It Out

When children are at their moodiest and throwing tantrums, it is often because they don’t know how to vocalize their emotions. You can help your child learn to put words to these feelings by talking it out with them. Say things like “Yes, you are frustrated because we can’t go to the park. But it is raining, so we will have to try to again tomorrow.” Or “I understand that you are angry that Mommy won’t let you eat the crayons, but they will hurt your tummy if you eat them.”

Sooner or later, your child’s brain will start connecting the dots and making the connections to these words that symbolize their feelings. Eventually, they will be able to tell you how they are feeling rather than just having a fit. Another benefit of talking about feelings is that when you are feeling a certain way, your child will be better able to understand how their actions make you feel. For example, if your child has misbehaved you can say “This makes me feel angry,” and your child will be able to associate that statement with a time when they felt angry.

Move On

Luckily, at this age, your child has a very short attention span. It is likely that you will be able to redirect his or her attention to another activity or distraction and they will forget all about whatever it was that had upset them at the time. Diversion won’t work every time, but for the most part it’s a pretty useful trick to be used in a pinch. Try not to rely on diversion all of the time, though. It is important that you pay attention to and talk about your child’s feelings. It will help them develop healthier means of expression.

No one knows your child better than you, but sometimes even a parent can have trouble understanding their child’s temperaments. Especially during those tough “growing pains” moments it can be frustrating trying to piece together and understand your child’s mood swings.

With some patience, however, you and your child can move past this difficult time.

The Benefits of Peppermint

When you think of peppermint, you probably think of peppermint candies and candy canes. Aside from being delicious, however, peppermint actually has quite a few beneficial uses.

Peppermint is actually a plant. It was discovered in Europe, but is now found all over the world. Peppermint is an easy plant to grow and can grow just about anywhere. It thrives in any moist shaded areas and can easily be grown at home in a container.

Peppermint plants grow so easily, in fact, it is recommended that you plant your peppermint in containers so it doesn’t take over your garden. The leaves and oil from a peppermint plant are what we typically use in medicines, tea, liniments, and yes, even candies. Peppermint oil is probably the most useful derivative of the peppermint plant. It has a variety of uses as an anti-inflammatory, in rubs and liniments, and for gardening.

Here are some creative uses for peppermint:

Food and Drink

Herbal tea with peppermint is known to help settle stomachs and tastes delicious.

Add some fresh mint sprigs to your lemonade for a refreshing twist. Sprinkle some crushed dried mint leaves on salads, especially fruit salads, for a delightful spin on potentially boring dishes. Add to marinades and savory sauces for a gourmet zing. Sprinkle over vanilla ice cream for a delicious and refreshing treat.

Bath and Body

Add a handful of Epsom salts and about ten drops of peppermint essential oils to your bath water for a relaxing spa-like soak. The peppermint and Epsom salts are excellent for relaxing sore muscles. Brew some dried mint leaves for water and then let them cool. Keep a jar of this in your refrigerator to splash on your face for a refreshingly clean feeling.

Add a few drops to carrier oil such as vitamin E oil or jojoba oil to make soothing massage oil. The peppermint’s anti-inflammatory properties will help massage out sore muscles. For tired, aching feet, add a couple drops to a foot bath and soak.

Household and Garden

Grow peppermint in or near your garden to repel bugs that will want to eat your plants. When planting in your garden with your other plants, make sure to leave enough space (about 6 inches) between the roots of your peppermint plant and other plants. This will help prohibit the peppermint from taking over your garden.

Make a household refresher spray with water, a little vinegar, and a few drops of peppermint essential oils. To prevent bugs from coming into your house, spread peppermint leaves under windows and doors or treat the surrounding area with peppermint oil. Try cotton balls with drops of peppermint oil to repel ants and other bugs.

Medicinal

To sooth nausea and indigestion, suck on a peppermint candy or drink peppermint tea. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oils to a humidifier or shower to clear nasal passages. For headaches, soak a wash rag in cool water with a few drops of peppermint essential oil and use as a cold compress.

The anti-inflammatory properties of peppermint are legendary. Peppermint oils are often added to rubs and liniments for sore muscles.

Peppermint is one of nature’s most useful plants. There are many benefits to using peppermint – not just for eating, but for medical and household uses as well.

Ten Ways to Keep Your Star Athlete Humble

Once again, your child ran ¾ of a length of a football field to score the winning touchdown after a tough tied game. This isn’t the first time your child has done this. Congratulations! You must be proud, and so is your child. But how do you keep your star athlete humble?

1. Be humble yourself. Your child will learn from how you behave and react. If you’re cocky, he (or she) will be, too. Model the behavior you want to see.

2. Always be sure to recognize the hard work of others on the team. Your child wouldn’t have made the touchdown without that great throw from the quarterback. If the linebackers hadn’t protected him, he couldn’t have made it down the field. Keep those things in mind and gently remind your star that it takes a village…

3. You win some and you lose some. Sometimes that three-point basket just goes in. Sometimes it bounces off. There’s skill and luck and trajectory and all kinds of things that go into that success. This time it worked.

4. Remind your child how others feel. It’s great to be successful, but not everyone is. Your child is fortunate to be so skilled in sports, but keep in mind that it’s a blessing.

5. Remind your child that arrogance and cockiness can turn people off. It’s about being a team player, not about being a show-off.

6. Just as Peter Parker learned, “With great power comes great responsibility,” remind your child that of his skills, other kids will naturally look up to him as a leader. Your child will need to display good judgment on and off of the field.

7. Teach respect for everyone — coaches, teammates, other teams, referees, etc. There will be a day when everyone’s blaming someone for a bad call. If your child is a good sport and handles himself well, this behavior could spread. Imagine a baseball field where no one yelled at anyone and people were respectful for one another. Your and your child could lead by example.

8. Teach your child not to boast about his or her achievements. Let others recognize them instead.

9. Remind your child that winning isn’t everything. Sometimes people get addicted to success. Each continued win only leads some to fear the day that they’ll lose and how people will react and how people will treat them. Will they think less of him? These kinds of pressures that come with success aren’t something many people think of. But if you praise your child for lots of varied successes – “Great job getting your homework done before dinner” or “Thanks for cleaning your room today,” your child will know that you love him or her for who he is, rather than for the success on the field.

10. Encourage your child to try new things. Is your child great at football? Why not give baseball or basketball a try? Whether you try it privately in the backyard, or try out for the school team, your child will learn to be humble as he sees what it’s like to try a new sport and be on the learning curve.

It’s basic instinct to celebrate our victories, and everyone has a right to be proud of their achievements. The trick is not to boast, or be cocky or cease to be a team player. With your guidance, your star athlete will be humble, respectful of others, and will be a model leader with skills that will last a lifetime in any arena.

Teaching Your Child Patience

Patience is a virtue, or at least that’s what you hear. Too bad your little one doesn’t understand that sentiment. Teaching children patience can be a daunting task. The younger they are, the more demanding they can be. More than likely, they don’t even understand the concept of patience, much less how to act accordingly.

Your little one will need guidance and a little patience from you as well. There are three important keys to teaching patience: starting as early as possible, being consistent, and positive reinforcement.

Start Early

Starting at an early age is best, although starting late is certainly better than never. The earlier you start with small lessons, the easier it will be for your little one to catch on. Start with simple things such as delaying gratification for a few minutes when your child asks for something. She needs to understand that if you are busy, she may not get what she wants right away and she will need to wait.

For example, if your child asks you for some milk or juice, calmly tell her that you will get her some as soon as you have finished your current task. Make sure to follow through on your promises, and do not proceed to work on another task before fulfilling your end of the bargain. When you ask your child to wait for something, try setting an egg timer to sing when the time is up, or tell your child where the hands or the numbers will be on the clock to help.

Be Consistent

For the concept of patience to truly sink in, you need to make sure that you are being consistent in your practices. For example, if you tell your child that he can play with blocks after lunch, do not then go back on that promise by making him take a nap first. Also, don’t mix things up by sometimes making your child be patient, but other times giving in to his demands. This will only confuse him instead of teaching him that if he is patient, he will eventually get what he wants.

Positive Reinforcement

Reward your child when she gets it right, but try not to react negatively when she doesn’t. You want to make the learning process easy and understandable for your child.

For example, if you are talking on the phone and your child is trying to get your attention because she wants you to read to her, calmly explain to her that you are talking on the phone and cannot read a book with her right this moment.

Refrain from yelling or telling her to be quiet, but instead explain the situation to her and make her understand that now is not the right time. Then, once she has waited patiently for you to complete your phone call, reward her by taking the time to read the book with her. Children that learn patience often get along much better in life.

They make friends easier and at an early age because they learn how to share and take turns. These lessons also follow them into their adult lives. Patience is a virtue that can be taught to any child. If you start now, stay consistent with your teachings, and reinforce positively, your child will easily learn to be better mannered, less demanding and more patient.