When a Cantonese mother posted a clip of her method for calming a toddler tanty in under 20 SECONDS on her Facebook page less than a week ago, she couldn't have guessed that the Internet would sit up and take note.
The clip has since been viewed 1.7 million times and has received 27 thousand likes.
So what's her secret? It's quite a zen approach and one we'll definitely be trying ourselves.
As the little boy begins to get angry and upset when it comes time to brush his teeth, instead of ignoring him, admonishing him or trying to reason with him (which we've all done at one time or another out of sheer frustration) she encourages him to let it out.
“Just cry, just cry. You’re going to feel better when you cry it out,” she says gently but firmly. Then she asks “Are you feeling better now?”
The little boy quietly answers ‘yes’ but still seems upset so she repeats:
“Just cry it all out.”
And then her son quite visibly seems to pull himself together and calmly starts to brush his teeth.
As a mum of a 'spirited' toddler myself, this definitely makes sense to me. I can always see my son's frustration building as he gets more and more worked up. Often my trying to halt the tantrum only makes him more upset. We all know the comfort of a good cry so maybe there's something in encouraging them to let their feelings out rather than trying to abruptly quash them.
What is your approach to the toddler tanty? Let us know in the comments...
