Living with a child who is frequently irritable or moody is never fun. Their mood can swing from happily playing to tantrumming on the floor in a heartbeat. You probably don’t even see it coming and are frequently surprised by the sudden change in her mood.

If you’re like most parents in this situation, you find yourself being cautious around your child. Cautious that you don’t accidentally ignite your child into another meltdown. You become fearful of getting her upset by denying her the ice cream she wants or talking with her in the wrong tone of voice.

Being cautious as a parent is never good for you, your child, or your family. When you lose your confidence as a parent, your child feels this, and he feels insecure and a loss of connection with you.

Probably the biggest challenge you face with your child’s mood swings is how to respond. You wonder what he needs and how you should respond to best help him. If you knew how to effectively help him feel happy again, you’d feel more confident and could more easily keep your cool with clarity and certainty whenever those upsets begin.

Instead of responding with confidence, clarity, and effectiveness, you may find yourself reacting with your own irritability, feeling angry and raising your voice. As you well know, this only escalates the problem; and you and your child both feel hurt and bruised by your interaction.

Here are 4 get-yourself-in-action tips to dramatically decrease or even eliminate your challenges with your child’s moodiness and emotional reactivity. [Read more…]