Preschool martial arts classes may seem like a bit of an early start… But when it comes to regulating temper tantrums, no time is too early! We know they can be stressful! Check out these amazing ways that our preschool classes help create a tantrum-free household.
Temper Tantrums in Preschool Kids
When a child throws a tantrum, they’re behaving in accordance with their emotions – of course they are, they’re a kid! We can’t fault preschool kids for being emotional because it’s just in their nature.
Their more rational brain is still just beginning to develop. What we CAN do is teach them to regulate their emotions, control themselves and focus on something other than their frustration. And these skills apply to so much more than just tantrums!
What is a Temper Tantrum?
It works like this: Something upsets your child. They feel a very strong negative emotion- most often, frustration.
They deal with this frustration the best way they know how, like through crying, whining, screaming, or even aggressive behavior like hitting or throwing.
Every parent knows this and has been through this, so you’re not alone! Plenty of parents enroll their children in our preschool classes because they’ve heard about how martial arts can help kids transform and stop throwing tantrums.
Getting Your Child Ready for School
In a temper tantrum your child is acting based solely on their emotions. They’re fueled by thoughts of how unfair something is, and their frustration just keeps building.
We want to teach them how to focus on the adult, listen to instructions, and then redirect their focus to something different from the source of their tantrum. This will help make life more peaceful for you and everyone in your family!
How Preschool Martial Arts Classes Can Help
This is why martial arts is so awesome, especially for young kids in preschool. We see a REMARKABLE difference in kids who start at ages 3 and 4 and kids who start at ages 6 and 7.
Kids who start martial arts classes at the preschool level get the emotional and behavioral skills “out of the way” much quicker than their older counterparts. They then learn more in their upper level classes because they’ve already gotten their emotions regulated.
They’ve already learned how to control their behavior, and the advanced material sticks better because they’re focusing better. Then, when they enter school, they have an incredible advantage because, well… everything we just said! It all applies to school as well.
That’s why martial arts is about more than just what you see in the movies. It’s a tool we use to help our students to become the absolute best versions of themselves, and it shows.
Focusing and Refocusing in Class
Okay, so- here’s how preschool martial arts classes help with temper tantrums: Step one is listening. We make listening FUN in our kids martial arts classes. How? Our instructors are absolutely incredible and are able to sneak listening skills, discipline skills and focus improvement into every lesson through fun and games.
They’re basically life skill ninjas. Classes at the preschool level are less about self defense (which they’ll learn as they progress) and more about building foundational behavioral skills through FUN.
This includes self control, which is the second step. It’s about being able to sit still, pay attention, and listen up. We teach self control the same way- through fun games and activities and positive reinforcement.
Conclusion
That’s totally key with tantrums- positive reinforcement. Preschool kids often throw temper tantrums because they don’t feel like they’re being listened to. They want your attention.
When we positively reinforce their good behavior skills, like listening, they’ll be less inclined to resort to negative attention strategies like tantrums. Reinforcing and praising our students when they listen is really important.
Everybody gets busy, we know that… But we really like to have parents sit in and watch class, so that they can keep up the positive reinforcement strategies at home. Then when you practice it at home you can really watch your child transform!
