What can I do to make my toddler behave and stop the tantrums?

If you thought baby behaviour was difficult just wait until you're little one becomes a toddler.

Often, this proves to be the hardest period of a child’s life for a parent to deal with. This is because your child has suddenly developed a voice and a sense of independence but not an understanding of how life works i.e. That you can’t always get what you want.

Fortunately, there's a great deal of useful advice available to help with toddler behaviour, and here's some of the most effective...

Reward good behaviour
Perhaps the best way to discourage bad behaviour is to reward good behaviour. We’e not talking about giving her treat every time she behaves herself but should give her lots of praise, love and attention. So when she does misbehave, and she suddenly doesn’t get these things, she's less likely to go it again.

Making her do what’s she’s told
It’s important to realise that you can’t actually make your toddler do what she’s told. Ultimately, she will only do something if she wants to. So the key is to try to make her want to. This may sound like an impossible task but remember you're much smarter than your child. For example, if she refuses to clear her toys away say to her, "I bet you can't put all your toys away in the time it takes me to count to ten."

Misbehaviour in public
We all dread those occasions when our delightful toddler decides to misbehave in public. It can feel like everyone within a five mile radius is looking at you and often they are. The secret here is to react in the same way as you do when she misbehaves at home, which should be in a calm but authoritative manner. Your toddler will notice if you handle her differently (and differently in this instance usually means softer), and she'll be more likely to repeat her performance the next time you go out.

Tantrums
They’re not called the terrible twos for nothing. Temper tantrums may be a real pain for parents but they’re all just part of growing up. Your toddler is beginning to learn how to express herself physically and emotionally so occasionally, when she doesn’t get what she wants, she'll bring out the fireworks.

The best way to deal with tantrums is to stay calm, let them pass and never, ever give in. The goal is to make you child see that throwing a hissy fit isn’t going to get her what she wants. As long as she’s not hurting herself, just ignore her. She’ll soon realise the pointlessness of shouting and screaming.

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