Children's hysteria: causes, signs, age characteristics

Hysterical neurosis in a child: general characteristics

Hysterical neurosis is also called childish hysteria. This condition is characterized by severe nervous excitement and is accompanied by inappropriate behavior of the child with an almost complete loss of self-control. More often than not, children become hysterical when they want to get what they want.

Many parents know that there is only one effective way to stop a child's tantrum: ignore the child until he calms down. However, this advice should not be taken too literally. Ignoring is only effective in the midst of a seizure. When the child calms down, parents should use special techniques and techniques that reduce the likelihood of a child's tantrum reoccurring.

However, hysterical neurosis can be a consequence of diseases of the nervous system and the presence of mental trauma. In this case, the attacks cannot be ignored; it is important to seek help from a neurologist and psychotherapist.

What should parents do during a 2-year-old crisis?

How should parents behave in those moments when the baby begins to become hysterical? And in general – how to behave during this difficult period??? The best way is for parents to provide more independence than before. Allow him too much (unless, of course, it threatens the baby’s safety). And also two rules:

Don't give your child all the toys at once

You should not give your child access to all toys at once. The fact is that the child will very quickly lose interest in them. If there are really a lot of toys, then you need to put some of the toys in a box and hide it for a while. After a couple of months, you should take the toys out of the box. And put in the box the toys the child has been playing with these months.

Photo by Shitota Yuri on Unsplash

Create activities and entertainment for your child. It happens that tantrums that arise out of the blue are the result of the fact that the child is... simply bored! Due to his age, the child cannot always come up with some kind of game or find entertainment. When playing, you should abandon boring moralizing and give your child complete freedom, of course, within the framework of permissiveness.

Become a child's partner

You always need to be ready to help your baby. After all, now a child is nothing more than a generator of new ideas. And very often it happens that he himself is not able to carry out his idea due to limited physical capabilities. In such cases, it is not possible to help the child and mom or dad should come.

But it is also important to remember the motto of this wonderful age: “I myself!” This means that in order for a child to continue to want to play with adults, it is very important to know the line where the child should be helped and where the child should be allowed to be independent for a little while. For example, you can bring a jar of water to the flowerbed to your mother. But the child will be able to water the flower from this jar on his own.

!!!Important!!! It should be remembered that the child has not yet learned to correctly express his negative emotions. It is faster for him to show his dissatisfaction in this way than to explain to his parents what exactly caused the storm of indignation.

If a child wants to play with his parents, then he should be given this opportunity. And also refrain from comments like “Well, just 10 minutes, and then you can do it yourself!” Then the baby will not be able to fully devote himself to the game, but will wait for when this time will end. Here you should just relax and enjoy playing with your child. And in the end, let him get such pleasure from the fact that he himself finished the game.

Causes of children's hysterics

As a child grows up, he develops desires and his own preferences, which often do not meet the requirements of adults. This leads to a clash of interests between the child and adults, which becomes the main cause of children's tantrums. When a child realizes that he cannot achieve his goal, he throws a tantrum to his parents in the hope that such behavior can influence the decision of adults. Typical situations that cause this condition can be provoked by both physiological and psychological factors. The latter, in turn, can be from the child’s side, as well as from the parents’ side.

On the child’s side, psychological factors include:

• The desire to attract the attention of adults, which the child often really lacks.
• Inability to speak at an early age, which causes the inability to express one’s dissatisfaction verbally.
• Presence of psychotrauma.
• Imitation of others.
• Hysteria as a way of expressing protest.
• The desire to achieve one's goal at any cost.
• Stubborn character.
• A type of nervous system characterized by imbalance.

On the part of the adults who surround the child, psychological factors include: improper upbringing, neglect of the child’s personal space, frequent punishments that are disproportionate to the child’s actions, overprotection.

Physiological factors include:

• Presence of diseases of the nervous system.
• Lack of proper sleep, improper daily routine.
• Hunger.
• Fatigue due to excessive mental and physical stress.

If parents are determined to wean their child from hysterics, they must first understand what reasons provoke such a condition. The easiest way to cope with ordinary whims. If the causes of hysterical neurosis lie in the incorrect upbringing of the child, then you first need to completely reconsider and, if necessary, radically change the education system.

The most difficult thing to get rid of is hysterics if their cause lies in health problems and psychosomatics. In the latter case, a consultation with a psychotherapist and a neurologist is necessary, who, if necessary, will prescribe an appropriate course of treatment.

On the way to growing up

Children grow up, explore the world, acquire new skills, gradually getting used to situations, people, relationships, rules. Learning to cope with daily challenges like adults requires years of patient training.

The age from 2 to 5 years is the most vulnerable in terms of the stability of the child’s psyche. The lack of necessary speech and social skills imposes certain restrictions on the ability of children to find an acceptable way out of difficult situations from the point of view of adults. This is not easy at any age, and if a child who is not experienced enough, does not have the gift of persuasion, is unable to express his feelings and desires, and even does not always understand what is expected of him, loses control over his emotions, then one is even more surprised. nothing, this is more a norm than a violation of it. The result is outbursts of anger, whims, hysterics. There are few families unfamiliar with this disaster.

• Hysteria is a state of extreme emotional arousal that results in loss of self-control. In children of the first years of life, signs of hysteria can include screaming, squealing, crying, and stamping their feet. You can often see how the baby begins to bang his fists, throw objects, roll around on the floor, and sometimes even bang his head against the wall, bite himself and others.
• Parents who are already familiar with this phenomenon know that in a state of hysteria, children cannot perceive information received in the usual ways (gestures, glances, facial expressions, speech), and all exhortations turn out to be useless. Sometimes tantrums become so frequent and severe that they exhaust both the child and the adults.
• Don't believe anyone who tells you that parents cannot influence a child's bad temperament. Patience, will, wisdom and emotional stability of the adult himself are your main weapons against children's hysteria.

What are the reasons for the explosion of children's emotions, how should parents behave to prevent hysteria, what to do if it has already broken out, and when is specialist help needed?

Main features

All children are individual, therefore, even if they fall into hysterics, each child behaves differently. Some scream loudly and stomp their feet in the hope of getting their way, others completely lose control of themselves and begin to roll on the floor. But this is not as scary as if aggression begins to appear. In this case, the child may cause harm to himself or others. If parents have already studied this process, then they roughly understand what will happen to their baby when they fall into hysterics. This will allow you to take security measures. As a rule, before throwing a tantrum, many children begin to behave characteristically. If adults manage to catch the right moment, they can try to prevent an attack.

There are special precursors to hysteria that signal an approaching attack. The child may begin to methodically rock his body, whine, snore, or grumble. His eyes fill with tears, his lips are pursed, his face turns red, his movements become sharp and nervous. However, the warning signs of hysteria may not always appear. Sometimes an attack begins unexpectedly.

What does the child do:

• screams and cries a lot;
• pounding with hands and feet;
• bangs his head against the wall;
• pushes and fights, bites himself;
• falls to the floor;
• coughs, breathes intermittently;
• in the process of rolling on the floor, he arches his back, which is involuntary spasms.

In addition, in hysterics, a child demonstrates a lack of reaction to words addressed to him by adults. Also, a child may, in a fit of aggression, shout at the adult at whom the hysteria is directed, use offensive words, or call him names.

What emotions are typical for a child at the time of an attack:

• aggression;
• resentment;
• anger;
• disappointment;
• irritation;
• anger.

When a child begins to have a tantrum, he is in a state of passion. This means that the child is completely unable to control himself. In case of self-harm, the baby does not feel pain at all at that moment. Undoubtedly, observing such behavior of your beloved child is scary and unbearable. If an adult has witnessed such a scene, he should know what measures to take to help the child calm down and come to his senses as quickly as possible.

Temperament and its influence on tantrums in children

There are several types of temperament, each with its own set of characteristics that determine the pattern of behavior. Using them, it is not difficult to find out what type of child’s nervous system is and, based on this, reduce the amount of stress in his life and help him adapt more easily to life situations.

Let's talk about the main types of nervous systems and how parents can avoid tantrums in children.

1) With a strong balanced mobile (sanguine) type of nervous system, strong processes of excitation and inhibition are well balanced. Such a child is usually in a good mood, gets along well with other children, adapts to different situations, and resolves conflicts easily and quickly. Lively, often changing impressions and activities, not keeping promises, easily trained, he rarely creates problems and gets angry, almost never gets nervous - only in very serious situations. But with systematic violations of the regime, such a baby can behave like a child with a weak type of nervous system. To bring him back into balance, it is important to maintain a daily routine, avoid crowded places and noisy games for a while, and offer him some new activity or hobby.

2) When strong excitation processes prevail over inhibition processes, we are talking about a strong unbalanced mobile type of the nervous system. This is a choleric person - a very sensitive and nervous child: he does not sleep for a long time, wakes up from every rustle, is noisy, impetuous, with sudden mood swings, quickly becomes exhausted, loves to be the leader and the center of attention. When a mistake is pointed out to him, he begins to get angry and scream. If this tactic works, parents need to be prepared for the fact that this method of achieving what they want will become entrenched as the main model of negotiations, and tantrums and scandals will become a way of life.

2.1. To prevent this from happening, a child with a choleric type of nervous system must be raised and taught patiently, unobtrusively and calmly - he will happily imitate adults in demonstrating restraint.

2.2. In this case, it is important for the parent to learn to recognize the moment when the child stops listening and begins to engage in confrontation, and immediately change the topic. From time to time it is necessary to tell him that his behavior is not always correct and acceptable.

3) With a strong balanced inert type of nervous system, which is otherwise called “phlegmatic”, strong inhibition processes are balanced with excitation processes with mutual inactivity. In this case, the child quickly falls asleep, eats well and gains weight; Such children are quiet, slow, calm, reasonable, and have difficulty switching to another activity. They are good friends and they themselves know how to value friendship, they are persistent and persistent, they always finish what they start, they are afraid of other people’s mood swings, they like solitude, when no one distracts them from a game, a book or thoughts. Phlegmatic people refrain from showing emotions, which makes it difficult to understand their true mood.

It makes sense for parents to teach such a child to overcome internal inertia, to involve him more often in noisy and active activities and games, not to rush to do everything for the child (because it is faster) and not to scold him for slowness: before starting any activity, he needs to collect his thoughts and understand what is required of him.

4) A weak, unbalanced, inert type of nervous system, which is also known as “melancholic”, is characterized by weakness in the processes of excitation and inhibition. A melancholic child is very impressionable, vulnerable, self-absorbed and withdrawn, uncommunicative, anxious, prone to fears, avoids conflicts, cannot tolerate changes in life, has an unstable appetite and sleep problems. Despite low self-esteem, he knows how to adequately analyze feelings and emotions. When hysterical, he does not fly into a rage and does not scream, but whines for a long time until they pay attention to him. In a situation of stress, the nervous system of this type will be paralyzed, the child will lose control of himself and is capable of unpredictable reactions.

A baby with a weak, unbalanced, inert type of nervous system needs regular rest breaks, and it is very important to involve him in household chores, turn to him for help more often (likes to be useful) and invite him into conversations with household members. In order not to provoke hysterics in such a child, it is better for parents to avoid noisy places and activities, as well as sudden changes in the baby’s life.

Phlegmatic and choleric children are more prone than others to severe hysterics, and the former, due to the inertia of the nervous system, will take a long time to mature for anger, but when they reach the boiling point, they will surpass even more energetic choleric people in the strength of their reaction.

What to do if your child is hysterical

A recommendation consists of a specific algorithm of actions.

Interception

To avoid hysteria, you need to know what warning signs indicate that your child is about to have a tantrum. This will allow you to recognize in advance that your baby is about to have a seizure. In this case, you can avoid a scene if you urgently switch the baby’s attention to something exciting and interesting. What distracting maneuvers can work: watching a fascinating book with bright pictures, watching a pet, watching what is happening on the street through the window, etc.

It is important to know that this technique will only work before the hysteria begins. If the attack cannot be avoided, it will no longer be possible to distract the child, and this technique will not produce results.

Finding the reason

After the child comes to his senses and the hysteria subsides, it is important to find out the reason that provoked the attack. If you clearly voice the problem that has arisen, the child will understand what happened. For example: “You are offended because we didn’t buy you that car, but we decided that we would give it to you for the New Year,” “You started crying because we went home and didn’t stay to play on the playground, but It's time for us to have dinner."

Regular confidential conversations in a calm environment will help the child understand that he is wrong. Soon he will learn to realize that there are limits that cannot be crossed. In addition, such conversations help bring the child closer to his parents, form closer contact between the baby and his mom and dad, and teach him to think logically.

Even if the child continues to argue and defend his rightness after such conversations, sooner or later he will understand that it is pointless to rebel and argue.

Keeping Calm

If it was not possible to stop the impending hysteria, what should parents do:

• Remain calm and do not prove anything to the child, because in a state of hysteria he is not able to communicate adequately.
• Do not shout and do not resort to the use of physical force under any circumstances.
• There is no need to show pity for the child, no need to panic.

You need to sit down so that the child’s eyes and yours are at the same level. Use a calm and friendly tone to let him know that you understand. Formulate the problem so that the child realizes his offense. Remind him of the rules of behavior.

Ignoring

If the above measures do not help, ignore. The child must understand that his actions are not bearing fruit in order to stop the hysteria. Later he will understand that it is meaningless.

Summarizing

Once the child calms down, wait 15 minutes and talk to him. First, identify the problem that caused the hysteria, then point out the consequences of the attack. The child must understand that this cannot be done again, therefore humane punishments are allowed. Put your baby in a corner, deprive him of sweets, or put him to bed earlier. He will understand that hysterics are fraught with consequences.

How to deal with tantrums?

The first option that comes to mind is the most correct and most common - ignoring. However, as Dr. Komarovsky emphasizes, it is not the child himself who should be ignored, but his seizures. “The child does not throw tantrums in front of the TV, in front of the closet, or in front of the bathroom. He throws tantrums in front of the person who is sensitive to hysterics.” That is why the association “I’m not yelling – mom is nearby” should be formed in a child under 2 years of age. Evgeniy Olegovich gives the following algorithm of actions:

1. put the child in the playpen;
2. leave the room, making it clear that you can hear him;
3. stand and wait until the screams stop;
4. go into the room.

If the screams are repeated, start from the second point. This method will take a lot of effort and nerves, but the result is worth it.

You should not calm your child down at the peak of hysteria, much less try to find out what caused it. It is best to wait until it passes, and only then calmly ask the baby what happened and calm the child down. You also cannot react aggressively to a child’s hysterics, condemn him, or try to suppress the expression of emotions.

Photo source: shutterstock.com

Age characteristics

At the age of 2 years, the child is actively developing rules and norms of behavior. Kids learn to assert themselves and try to be independent. It is at this age, subject to proper upbringing and the appropriate attitude of adults towards hysterics, that attacks quickly stop and subsequently do not return. However, there are rare exceptions, for example when the child is under severe stress. In adulthood, it is much more difficult to stop and prevent hysteria in a child.

2 years

If before this age a child could simply cry and be capricious, now he can demonstrate real hysterics to his parents, thereby perplexing and frightening adults. A two-year-old child already clearly understands the meaning of the words “no” and “impossible” and strives to protest against them in every possible way. However, due to a poorly developed speech apparatus, the child cannot use the persuasive power of words, so hysterical attacks at this age are a way to convey his desires to adults.

What parents of a two-year-old child who is hysterical should absolutely not do:

• Swearing and using physical force will provoke the development of complexes in the child and cause mental trauma.
• Instantly satisfying any desires and “wants” of the baby - this will subsequently make the child too spoiled and capricious.

The best thing parents of a 2-year-old child can do is to show their baby their care and love, hug and kiss, and then try to divert his attention to something else. By the way, at this age children still cannot control their attention, so helping the baby forget about the cause of his disorders and cheer up is easy and simple. If such techniques do not work, you should ignore them. Then it is important to make it clear to the child that this cannot be done again. Even if the attacks recur, the child will soon understand the futility of such behavior and the hysterics will stop.

If, as a result of the work done, the hysterics do not stop, parents should be wary. Perhaps frequent attacks are a consequence of psychosomatic problems. It is possible that the child feels discomfort or is simply overtired. In this case, it is advisable to reconsider your daily routine. It is also recommended to undergo a medical examination.

3 years

“The three-year crisis” is a concept that exists in psychology for a reason. At this age, there is a high risk of conflict between the interests of the child and parents. It seems to the little one that he is already old enough, so he can do everything himself. Regularly encountering multiple restrictions and parental supervision, the child begins to protest. Even the calmest and most obedient children at this age can, unexpectedly for their parents, begin to fall into hysterics.

Seizures of a 3-year-old child have their own characteristics:

• They happen unexpectedly due to any, even the most insignificant, reason. For example, when mom adjusted her scarf or hat.
• Hysterics can be numerous (up to 10 attacks per day).
• At this age, hysterical neurosis can be most pronounced, which is very frightening for adults.

The most effective way to get rid of tantrums in a 3-year-old child is to give him the opportunity to assert himself and be independent. Parents should give their child the right to choose. It is recommended to allow him to choose what he will wear and what he will eat. In this case, the baby will no longer need to assert himself, as he will feel like an adult, so the hysterics will stop.

4 years

In 4-year-old children, tantrums are conscious and more often have a specific purpose. Their main reason is improper upbringing. Children at this age are particularly smart and observant. They will quickly understand that they can get their way from a more gentle and accommodating family member. Did your mom not allow something? You can throw a tantrum at a grandmother who will do anything for her grandson so that he doesn’t roll on the floor or hit his head against the wall. In this case, all relatives are advised to clearly discuss what the child can and cannot allow, and follow the established rules.

If a 4-year-old child is flexible and accommodating, understands the words “no” and “no”, but still periodically throws tantrums to relatives, the reason may lie in the presence of psychosomatic problems. In this case, the intervention of a neurologist is necessary.

If a specialist during the examination was unable to identify psychosomatic disorders, the cause should be sought elsewhere. Thus, tantrums can be a consequence of unfavorable relationships with adults. Do not lose sight of the presence of family problems, such as regular quarrels, divorce of parents. If hysteria is the cause of psychological trauma, consultation with a neurologist is necessary.

5-6 years

5 years is the age of a child when another age crisis may occur. It can appear quite brightly. What characterizes the crisis:

• the child is withdrawn, often cries;
• prone to frequent mood changes;
• tries to copy his parents in everything;
• There may be cases of causeless attacks of anger and aggression.

All these factors are quite significant grounds for hysteria. Even a minor reason can trigger a seizure.

Experts believe that at this age, a child’s frequent tantrums are a consequence of a lack of care and parental love. It may be easier to get rid of tantrums than you think. It is enough to go somewhere with the whole family on weekends more often, have dinner together regularly, and spend time alone with the child more often.

Psychologists strongly recommend going to see a psychotherapist if a 5-6 year old child has tantrums quite often for no apparent reason.

7 years

Hysterical attacks at this age are a consequence of certain situations. The first is that the child categorically does not want to go to school. Many new responsibilities fall on him, demands appear from parents and teachers. The former force you to learn lessons, the latter force you to sit still for 40 minutes and absorb the material being studied. The appearance of new acquaintances can aggravate the situation. The main causes of hysterics at this age:

• stress and overwork;
• unfavorable classroom environment;
• copying peers;
• bad relationship with the teacher at school.

In this case, a conversation with the teacher, as well as a school psychologist, will help resolve the current situation.

The second reason is an unfavorable family environment. In this case, consultation with a family psychotherapist is advisable.

8-9 years

At this age, children already clearly understand what is possible and what is not. Parents should be wary of the appearance of seizures at such a late age. The reason may be conflicts with peers, some kind of injustice, exhaustion or a nervous breakdown.

Since children at this age should already be able to control their emotions well, experts call such attacks hysterical neurosis. This is a clinical diagnosis that should not be ignored. If a child has 2 or more tantrums in a short period of time, it is important to immediately make an appointment with a neurologist or psychotherapist.

Cases of hysterics in a child that require specialist consultation

If, even if the parents take the right actions in the event of a child’s hysteria, the attacks do not stop, the reason may lie in the presence of persistent disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system. Psychological trauma also leaves its mark on the child’s behavior. In this case, parents will not be able to cope with the problem alone; immediate intervention by specialized specialists is necessary.

When to contact a neurologist or psychotherapist:

• All measures taken by parents aimed at preventing and stopping hysteria turn out to be ineffective.
• The child cannot control the strong aggression that is directed at anyone who happens to be near him at the time of the attack.
• The tantrums become daily and last more than 20 minutes.
• Attacks occur even at night and can be accompanied by panic attacks and end in vomiting and loss of consciousness.
• As a result of the attack, the child causes serious injury to himself.

Hysterics that occur at night require urgent intervention from a specialized specialist. Parents should also be wary if, after an attack, the child demonstrates complete apathy for a long time, stops responding to anything, becomes lethargic, and the skin remains pale for a long time.

Parents' confusion

When this difficult and difficult period for everyone comes, parents are lost and do not know how to behave and how to react to all this. Even if this is not the first baby in the house, the situation in the family is still tense. And it becomes unbearable for family members to live in such a difficult atmosphere: a nervous child, constant hysterics, strained relationships between household members.

Unfortunately, a family that is faced with such problems rarely seeks advice and help from a specialist. And most often he turns to various forums and his friends for advice. The advice of such acquaintances varies. And no one is safe from receiving “toxic” advice. In such cases, people advise frightened parents to “ask well so that they know for the future.”

Photo on Unsplash

But here it should be remembered that such a method will not only not bring good results, but will also break the trusting relationship between the baby and the parent. Thus, by resorting to such methods of education, parents make the child more and more nervous. And his behavior is deteriorating more and more, and now his parents’ nerves are on edge...

Additional recommendations

If a child begins to have tantrums frequently, parents need to urgently take the necessary actions. What can help:

• adjusting the daily routine;
• regular exercise;
• prevention of physical and mental fatigue;
• complete relaxation in the fresh air;
• a favorable atmosphere in the family, good and trusting relationships with parents;
• the child has the right to choose and can exercise independence.

All family members should know the moments in which the baby does not have the right to choose. There should be no exceptions. The parents' requirements for the child must be firm and clearly formulated.

It is important that the child sooner or later understands that the rules established in the family cannot be broken. No amount of hysterics or attempts to achieve their results will bring results, and parents always firmly adhere to the rules and established restrictions.

Recommendations for preventing hysterics from experts

1. Create a clear daily routine, stick to it every day and with the whole family, repeating actions in a certain order. If changes are planned in the daily routine, they should not be spontaneous for the child; the child should be told about this. This will prepare him for the changes.
2. A separate point about sleep. There should be enough time for it, and there must be a day’s rest.
3. Develop a clear system of rules, restrictions and prohibitions that applies to the child regardless of what day it is, where and with which family member he is.
4. Do not overload the child’s nervous system, try not to saturate his day with too many bright emotions and impressions - a little of each good thing.
5. Talk to your doctor about special magnesium and vitamin C supplements for children (usually in gummy form). Magnesium will help strengthen the baby's nervous system. Consultation with a specialist in this matter is required.
6. If you see that the child's indignation is already close, try to distract him to avoid hysterics.

When to contact a child psychologist?

The child’s behavior itself is frightening and abnormal. But there is a certain line that distinguishes – when everything is fine, and when it is worth contacting a child psychologist. First of all, you need to pay attention to the hysterics themselves. If they drag on for a long time and become too frequent, then this will be the first call to contact a specialist.

Also, if parents are more inclined to believe that their child needs a child psychologist, then it would be better to make an appointment with a neurologist as well. He will conduct an examination and, if necessary, prescribe sedatives to the baby. At this age, natural herbal preparations are recommended for children.

Sometimes the cause of frequent children's tantrums is strained relationships between parents. Even if a child has never witnessed family squabbles, he still feels the negative relationship between mom and dad and reacts to them in his own way. It is worth trying to improve relationships with each other and put your thoughts in order. Then the baby will become much calmer.

Do not forget that during this period it is much more difficult for a child than for adults. There are so many new and interesting things around for him. He tests the limits of what is permitted and explores the world, simultaneously testing the strength of his parents’ nerves. Be that as it may, time passes quickly, and this difficult, but necessary for proper development, age will be left behind. And there will be new problems and worries ahead.

Dietary supplements inexpensively

Raising children, by definition, is not an easy task. Parents understand this literally from the first days of their baby’s life. But when faced with a child’s hysteria for the first time, they may feel their complete “pedagogical” powerlessness.

And only a few know (or understand intuitively) that their behavior at such moments determines how the child’s personality will develop further. Will he adopt this “method” as an effective means of manipulation and achieve what he wants, or will he learn to conduct a meaningful and calm dialogue.

Free consultation right now!

Online consultation with a specialist on your issue!

License number: LO-77-01-019036

To avoid hysteria, warn in advance

There are many tears when a child is engrossed in a game, but adults need to interrupt this game for some reason. Either it’s time for dinner, or to go home, or to sleep. It can be difficult to stop the game instantly, and the “Warning” technique is suitable here.

It is better to warn the child in advance, give him time to finish, and help bring the plot of the game to its logical conclusion. In order for the pyramid to be assembled, the train had time to complete its route, all the fairies returned safely to their cribs, and the winner was determined in the robot duel.

After all, it can also be difficult for us, adults, to suddenly switch from one type of activity to another. It takes some time to pause the matter, bringing it to its logical point. Finish a chapter, finish a letter, finish watching a news story, finish cleaning. It is clear that if something emergency happens, we will drop everything and run. But it will be stressful.

For a child, a sudden switch to another activity is also stressful. He reacts to stress with tears. If nothing urgent has happened, I think it is possible to show respect for the child’s activities and help complete the task he is currently busy with.

This technique also works with older children. There was a period when I was very annoyed that I had to wait a long time for the children to come to the table, calling them several times. They usually came running after an ultimatum: “If you don’t come now, I won’t feed you!”

Once, while visiting my mother, I myself found myself in the role of such a child. Mom called me to the table, and it was very important for me to finish the chapter before the thought flew out. I was so carried away by the completion process that I only woke up to the question: “It’s almost cooled down. Should I warm it up? Or should I put it in the refrigerator already?” Since then, I began to agree with the children when (what time) we would have dinner, so that they would try to complete all their work by this time.