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How do you stop your 2 yo from crying on every single item he wants. Be it books, toys, food and etc

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Super Mum

He needs to learn other ways of expressing himself. If he’s already started talking, teach him simple ways of asking politely. You can reward with stickers or something when he does so. These toddlers also need pep talks before everything.. for eg. before going to a toy store, explain that you’re not buying anything, but he can choose (they love it when they think they have some choice/control) 3 toys to play with while they’re at the store. Even at home, before allowing him to go play, brief him that he has ___ minutes to play, what he can play with (again, give him choices so he feels he has some control in this) and that at the end of play time, how he can pack up all the toys. For food, talk about the next meal way in advance. Discuss what food will be there, what time he will eat, how he will eat it, etc. At 2yo, they’re often overwhelmed with emotions. Although we think they react to the smallest things, these are actually big things to them. So when they don’t know how to express themselves, they fall back on the instinct to cry, since that has worked for them since birth. It’s quite easy for us adults to react in anger and frustration, but I’ve come to experience that teaching my child different coping mechanisms and forms of self expression helps them more. At 3yo, the meltdowns get worse... haha. But my LO has learnt that she doesn’t get her way when she whines, and gets a better response from us parents when she asks us nicely. It’s a learning journey for both parent and child:) For less verbal children, you may consider buying emoji magnets/stickers and introducing different feelings to the child based on facial expressions. Then do some exercises with your LO to take the magnet that describes how he’s feeling. For my elder child, I also bought the book series on “When I’m feeling...” and that has helped put into words many different emotions, therefore helping her describe her feelings to us better. I’m sure there are many other ways too. Hope you’ll find a good way to communicate with your LO soon

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