24/02/2026
For the past two weeks, my 2-year-old son has been throwing himself on the floor whenever he gets angry. He would hit his head, throw things, kick. Not because he is a bad child. But because he did not yet have the words for what was happening inside him.
Toddlers feel big emotions in very small bodies.
They don’t fully understand those emotions. And they don’t yet have the vocabulary to express them. So the emotion comes out the only way they know how. Through their body.
My job is not to shame the emotion.
My job is to teach him how to express it.
So I stayed consistent.
Firm voice. Firm face. Calm heart.
I then say to him: ‘’You do not throw yourself on the floor when you are angry. You tell mommy why you are angry.”
This morning, something beautiful happened.
He got upset. He almost threw himself on the floor. Then he stopped himself… looked at me and said:
“I am angry because mommy did not carry me.”
I paused.
Because that moment… that was growth.
He is learning to name his emotions.
And if a child can NAME it, they can begin to TAME it.
I validated him.
“I can see that you are angry. It is okay to feel angry. But it is not okay to hurt yourself or throw things.”
Then I redirected him.
“When you are angry, you can take a deep breath. You can walk away. You can cool off.”
He is still learning. But progress is happening.
Parenting is not about controlling the child. It is about guiding the child.
And guidance requires knowledge.
Guidance requires patience.
Guidance requires intentionality.
If I did not know better, I may have punished what was actually a developmental milestone.
Every child is different. You cannot use one child’s manual to raise another child.
This is your reminder as a parent:
Stay in the place of knowledge.
Stay patient.
Celebrate small wins.
You are not just raising a child.
You are raising an emotionally healthy human and that is sacred work.
