On Screaming

Our little girl has recently mastered the art of screaming. When she was younger, she'd just cry when she needed or wanted something. These days, she screams her lungs out to get our attention. The shrill sound of her voice can be quite annoying I tell you, especially if she does it in a public place. A perfect example of this was when we were on a flight back from Melbourne. For some reason, she was agitated and irritable. She wasn't like this in our flight going to Melbourne. She easily let out screams all throughout the flight, which was embarrassing for both my husband and me as people were starting to stare at us.

I wouldn't want another episode of this on our upcoming trip at the end of this month. I reckon though that we can expect this since it is going to be a longer flight and the probability that this will happen again is quite likely.

So why do toddlers scream? It seems really puzzling but I read up at Babycenter that there can be several reasons for it.

Why toddlers scream
Believe it or not, your toddler's volume is turned way up not because she means to annoy you, but because she's full of that wonderful toddler joie de vivre. She's exploring the power of her voice, and experimenting with what she can do with it. Why must she always cut loose when you're at the supermarket or the bank? "There's a lovely echoing effect when you scream in big open spaces," says Roni Leiderman, associate dean of the Family Center at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "And if the behavior is reinforced, toddlers know they can get more attention from their parents if they scream in public."

Some toddlers scream whenever they want their parents' attention. It's their way of saying, "Hey, look at me." Others scream when they want something they can't have — like a piece of candy. In that case, the shrieking means, "I want my way — give it to me now!"

Alright, now that we know the possible reasons for this type of behavior, let's see what they advise us to do about it.

• Run errands on her schedule.
• Stick to noisy stores and restaurants.
• Ask her to use an indoor voice.
• Make a game out of it.
• Acknowledge her feelings.
• Keep her occupied.
• Finally, ignore the onlookers.

Sounds fairly easy eh? Good luck!

To read more of this article from BabyCenter, click here.