I’m a child behaviour expert – how to deal with mood swings from tots to teens & the secret weapon every parent needs

FROM the terrible twos all the way to the teenage years, each stage of childhood has its own challenges to deal with as a parent.

Whether your child is learning right from wrong or trying to cope with surging hormones, it can often be difficult to know how to help them.

LittleLifeSteps

A drink of water can be vital in dealing with mood swings – both for the children and the parents[/caption]

But child behaviour expert Sue Welby, owner of Littlelifesteps, has a secret weapon that will help whatever your child’s age – and it’s completely free.

“Try offering your child a drink of cold water,” Sue – who is known as “Super Sue” to many of the parents who have turned to her for guidance – suggested.

“It can be one of the quickest ways to improve their mood.

“While it may seem like a weird suggestion, dehydration can affect our moods and our child’s brain.

“They can become snappy, grouchy, unable to follow instructions, concentrate and focus.

“It helps parents too as they will have more patience if they are not dehydrated.”

Studies have shown that even mild dehydration affects mood and increases anxiety and stress.

And given that many challenging behaviours in childhood – such as defiance and low tolerance of others – are often anxiety led, the link to water comes up once again.

Water isn’t the only secret weapon in Sue’s arsenal.

As well as hydrating, the actual act of drinking a glass of water will help calm your child down.

“We swallow in a rhythmic pattern which helps our body return to calm,” Sue explained. “We regulate our breathing as we are swallowing, and this calms our brain.”

So if you are finding that your child isn’t listening to you, why not try suggesting getting a big glass of water together?

Of course, for some parents, actually getting their child to drink a glass of water is a challenge in itself.

But Sue has some suggestions to help with this too – either by trying a fun way of getting some water in them, or turning to a food with a high water content, such as watermelon, strawberries and cooked squash.

She also stresses the importance of regulating breathing on her behaviour course, and has some brilliant suggestions on getting children to do this.

Instead of just asking your child to take a deep breath, which can be boring and often hard to understand if they’re little, ask them to blow out some pretend birthday candles.

Or why not try telling them to take a breath before blowing on a mirror to steam it up?

Blowing bubbles is another fun way of regulating the breathing – and what child doesn’t love bubbles?

Sue runs child behaviour courses, such as Toddlers Throwing Wobblers, on Zoom, and offers potty training and bed wetting advice through her website.

For more details, visit Littlelifesteps.com.

LittleLifeSteps

Sue Welby has years of experience working with children and is known as “Super Sue” by many of the parents she has worked with[/caption]

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