How Can I Stop My Child Screaming?

If your child is screaming or shouting, it can often be hard to help them to stop.

Of course, children scream for many reasons, such as when they’re physically hurt or when they feel in danger. However, it can sometimes feel difficult when they scream because they feel angry or frustrated, or when they can’t have their own way.

So how can you help your child to stop screaming when they’re not in pain or danger?

Why does my child scream?

Children can scream for a wide range of reasons. It’s normal behaviour, particularly for younger children. Your child may use screaming as self-defence to stop another child taking a toy they’re playing with, or to get a sibling to leave their room or space.

Young children often lack the communication skills to express powerful feelings like anger, frustration and jealousy. They can often respond physically, like screaming, having tantrums, biting, or hitting, when these emotions become too much for them to manage.

If your child gets a big reaction from you, they may learn that screaming is an excellent way to get your attention, even though it’s in a negative way.

And if screaming has worked in the past when you’ve given in to a demand, they may also use it to get what they want.

How can I stop my child screaming?

We don’t want our children to suppress strong emotions. Instead, we want them to recognise how they’re feeling and learn alternative ways to express their emotions.

You can help your child by labelling the emotion and talking to them about it. You could say, “I can see you’re feeling frustrated because I said you couldn’t have a ne