Temper tantrums? Five tech-free tantrum taming tips

Here are five parent-proven ways to calm a tantrum down without resorting to screen time. 

4. Step away from the meltdown

Sang Tan/AP
Plant of the Year 2014 shortlist contender, Trollius 'Dancing Flame' stands on display at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, Monday, May 19.

Often tantrums revolve around a central item - for instance, a toy that is out of reach or off limits. Often moving away from that item, or the setting for a tantrum, can help cut it off. Try walking away from the toy aisle in the store, or stepping aside from a playgroup for a quick time out to detach the tantrum from the location.

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Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

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If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

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