When Your Child is Craving Attention with Alanna G.

Allana's 5-year-old son has trouble controlling his anger. When he wants something, he wants it, and he'll ask and ask until he gets it. When he doesn't get it, he'll throw a temper tantrum and sometimes act out physically in his anger. Today, Alanna and I talk about what could be behind these temper tantrums. We talk about how being the oldest kid can affect the amount of attention a child gets and how the child will often act out to try to get the attention he craves. We discuss how to overcome the temptation to just not deal with him when he's being difficult. We talk about the importance of putting yourself in his shoes, as well as of letting him know that it's okay to feel these emotions while at the same time setting clear boundaries about the right and wrong ways to respond to them. We talk about the effectiveness of setting aside alone time with your child, as well as giving him responsibilities around the house. We conclude with some takeaway practical advice and the importance of establishing "good" and "bad" as modifiers of behavior, not people.   "You're making an emotional connection with him. And that is what's important." - Sue Groner   This week on The Parenting Mentor: A possible source of relentlessness and disobedience Why it's important to set aside one-on-one time with your child How to make your child feel that they're an important part of the family How to deal with your child when you don't want to be around them Setting boundaries for how to respond to anger   Meet the Parenting Mentor If you want to reduce the everyday stress and anxiety that inevitably come with parenting and learn to be a happier and more relaxed parent, then this is the place for you. Here, you can listen in on real sessions with parents who open up about the specific challenges they face with children from 2 to 22. Listen along and gain perspectives and strategies to help you parent with sanity and joy. Visit theparentingmentor.com for notes on this show, more episodes, and all the ways to subscribe, and don't forget to pick up my book, Parenting with Sanity and Joy: 101 Simple Strategies, which includes my Nine Golden Rules of Parenting. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts!   Spotify I Stitcher I Apple Podcasts I TuneIn I Google Podcasts