Want some ideas to stop destructive toddler behaviour?

Finding your energy isn't matching that of your child's?

Do you ever have those moments when your child is being toodestructive with their toys, or just roaming around the house in a bored state,looking for something to throw, jump on or go WAYYY overboard with?

I know we do.

In a house with three kids under 8, the struggle is real.

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Kids running (with me saying don’t run please), jumping all over the place, playing ‘chasey’ and having a great time with their siblings.

Until someone falls over, hits their head and suddenly it’s all the others’ fault. #sigh

Or the all-annoying ‘everyone is playing happily except one child, who then makes it their mission to annoy everyone else for absolutely no reason at all.’

That one’s a winner, isn’t it?

Find out what you need to know about sibling rivalry here!

So how can we tame those moments –or better yet, predict and prevent them?

I have three little strategies here to help you when your toddler, pre-schooler or child are going a little cray cray and you need to help them move out of that destructive headspace.

Here are my 3 ways to stop destructive toddler behaviour!

1: Distract and Redirect.

Distraction is the golden rule for small children, but it isjust so effective when parents do it right!

So often I see people(including myself on occasion, still)trying to distract their kids with another toy or something which is nowhere near as engaging as the item or activity they are trying to distract their kids from.

This obviously doesn’t work.

The child understands what you are doing, so find something GREAT that they will love, and get them to do that. (Like play Lego with you)

That’s how we do distraction.

Redirection is my term for something a little further on than just distraction-but distraction with a purpose. Watch my Redirection strategy video here!

See my tips for being Productive as a Stay at Home Mum here.

2: Give a task or responsibility.

This is genius, especially as children become a little olderand the younger distraction techniques don’t work as well.

If your child has way too much energy, or is being toodestructive, try this:

-Find something they can help you with QUICKLY,

-Ask them to help you, and

-Make sure it takes you physically away from the original issue that caused the destructive toddler behaviour in the first place.

‘Helping Mum’ can be such a huge connection activity for small kids who want to learn independence and understanding.

Kids all want the feeling of power.

Therefore, feeling like they are powerful and useful helpers is an extremely effective way to move them on from activities you don’t want them engaging in.

The reason I always move physically away, or at least turn to face another way, is that it involves a physical shift of the child’s mentality as well as a mental/emotional one. The child needs to progress through space, and therefore it can help to progress through their mood as well.

I don’t know if there’s any scientific basis for this, though I feel sure there is.

I just know it works!!

This exact strategy is consistently used by myself in my own home and with other people’s children, to ensure they are moving and behavingin an acceptable manner in their environments at the time.

(Doesn’t work as well once they’re past 6 or so necessarily, unfortunately. But still!)

And the third way to stop destructive behaviour in your toddler (or small children)?

3: Engaging in physical/rough play.

Children have abundant amounts of energy, usually more than the adults in their lives-which often results in that destructive toddler behaviour, right?

So where we can sit inside for awhile, even a day, and not be bouncing off the walls, children seem to be the opposite. It can be very hard for small children to sit still!

If you have small kids, I’m sure you can identify!

Boys especially have a lot of ‘bouncy’ energy, and I’m finding already that my 17 month old boy is destructive when it’s a rainy day and we haven’t had at least an hour or so in the backyard. This is so normal but can be very hard work for mums who need to get the housework done too!

So get them outside if you can.

Get them onto the trampoline if you have one. Get them riding their bikes, running around, have a jumping contest together, or throw them on the ground (not too hard obviously) and tickle them!

Kids love rough play with a parent, and here are just a few of the benefits:

-They use up some of their eternal energy,

-They learn a lot with gross and fine motor skills,

-They learn a lot about proprioception (where their body is in space), and

-Hopefully they sleep better at night! #winwin

These are not the only tips for stopping destructive behaviour, but they sure do help and they are relevant and easy for parents to implement most of the time.