Preschool martial arts classes for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds may seem like a bit of an early start… But they’re one of the best ways to overcome temper tantrums- AND get your child ahead of the game when they enter school! Read on for some amazing ways that our preschool classes help create a tantrum-free household.
Temper Tantrums in Preschool Kids
Preschool kids are emotional creatures. They don’t logically understand that their actions have consequences.
When they’re throwing a temper tantrum, they only know that they’re upset, and that they really want you to know about it. We can’t fault them for throwing tantrums, because their brains are still developing.
What we CAN do is show them how to regulate their emotions, listen, and focus. And these skills apply to so much more than just tantrums!
What is a Temper Tantrum?
Here’s how it plays out: Your child becomes upset by something. They feel a very strong negative emotion- most often, frustration.
This frustration leads them to physically express how upset they are through crying, whining, screaming… It can even lead to aggressive behavior like hitting or throwing.
Every parent has dealt with temper tantrums before, so you’re not alone! Plenty of parents enroll their children in our preschool classes because they’ve heard about how martial arts can help with these behavioral issues in young children.
Getting Your Child Ready for School
In a temper tantrum your child is acting based solely on their emotions.
Your child is fueled by thoughts of how unfair something is, and their frustration just keeps building.
We want to teach them how to focus on the adult, listen to instructions, and then refocus on something different that is far away from the source of their tantrum. This will help make life more peaceful for you and everyone in your family!
How Preschool Martial Arts Classes Can Help
This is why martial arts for preschool kids is so freaking cool. We see a REMARKABLE difference in kids who start classes at the preschool level, and those that start just one year later.
Kids who start martial arts classes at ages 3 and 4 get to learn these emotional and behavioral skills much quicker than 6 and 7 year olds. They then learn more in their upper level classes because they’ve already gotten their emotions regulated.
Their behavior is under control, and the material sticks better because they’re focusing better. Then, when they enter school, they have an incredible advantage because, well… everything we just said! It all applies to school as well. That’s why martial arts helps with so much more than just temper tantrums. It’s a tool we use to help our students to become the absolute best versions of themselves, and it shows.
Focusing and Refocusing in Class
Okay, so- here’s how preschool martial arts classes help with temper tantrums: Step one is listening. We make listening FUN in our kids martial arts classes.
How? Our incredible instructors are essentially ninjas of life lessons, sneaking listening skills, discipline, and focus into every lesson through fun and games. Classes at the preschool level are less about self defense (which they’ll learn as they progress) and more about building foundational behavioral skills through FUN.
This includes self control, which is the second step. It’s about being able to sit still, pay attention, and listen up. We teach self control the same way- through fun games and activities and positive reinforcement.
Conclusion
That’s a big component of our classes that helps with tantrums- positive reinforcement. Preschool kids often throw temper tantrums because they don’t feel like they’re being listened to. They want attention from you. When we positively reinforce their good behavior skills, like listening, they’ll be less inclined to resort to negative attention strategies like tantrums. Reinforcing and praising our kids when they listen is really critical. Everybody gets busy, we know that… But we really encourage parents to watch how class works, so that they can continue positive reinforcement techniques at home. Then when you practice it at home you can really watch your child transform!