How do I become a more tolerant parent?

[nomorearsingmermaids]

Just that really. I have a nearly 3 year old and find myself snapping at him more than I am comfortable with. I do apologise to him if I snap and he gets lots of affection and cuddles but I would like to find ways to deal with my feelings when he is irritating me.

I'm massively introverted and I can't stand being pulled at, climbed on etc which doesn't help.

Impatience is a massive personality flaw of mine and one which I would dearly love to be able to combat. Any tips welcome!

Deep breaths and count to ten! Channel someone you think is cool and calm and copy their behaviour.

Try to remember that it’s not worth getting your blood pressure up - trust me, in ten years you will have enough to contend with!

Channel someone you think is cool and calm and copy their behaviour.

That will be Flop from Bing then.

trust me, in ten years you will have enough to contend with!

Oh god don't say that. My mother has raised four kids. She says the toddler years were worse than the teenage ones!!!

I find smiling benignly whilst imagining a jaunty little tune helps

Dependsnreally on how stressed I am generally.

I had an awfully stressful job with minimal patience. That made it difficult dealing with a toddler.

Children can be irritating. Usually when children are irritating to us they are usually wanting our attention. Try putting yourself in your child's shoes. What is it that they want? A cuddle/ attention/ play/ food? . If you're busy doing something (cooking/cleaning) think about some positive scripts that you can rhyme off quickly that might buy you a minute

A good thing to regularly remind yourself of is that your child simply doesn't think and reason the same way you do. It's easy to overlook this when you're frustrated and tired.

I could have written exactly this! And yes to channeling Flop from Bing (I should be so lucky to remain so calm and cool).

I definitely have a shorter fuse than I would like. Sometimes instead of snapping I’ll try and say something funny and start a tickling game. Something that helps me suddenly change my mind set and allows us both to have fun.

I hate the climbing/pulling/jumping toddler stuff. But find more focused activities limit this. Play dough at the table is our current favourite! Drawing, puzzles etc.