I believe that clever, positive, neutral phrases can significantly improve toddler cooperation (I call “toddlers” children between one and four-years-old).

One day I sat down to write the phrases I have discovered are really helpful for younger toddlers, and ended up with this list of thirty-three parenting gems: Stop Tantrums: 33 Phrases To Use With ToddlersI was blown away to watch the post be shared over 50,000 times in the first few days, and continue to be shared over 63,000 times to date. The feedback from parents was overwhelming! One mom said, “These are saving me! I’m going to tattoo these phrases on my arm!”

Realizing that phrases for a three and four-year-old would be slightly different, I wrote another list aimed at parents of that age. This post was entitled Tantrum Tamers: 32 Phrases To Use With Three and Four-Year-Olds. To my utter shock and amazement, it was shared 50,000 times in less than a day, and has been shared over 140,000 times to date.

It was clear to me that parents needed more information! I spent time thinking about how I could provide this kind of support in the easiest format possible. My question was: what do parents need in order to make using and remembering these phrases easy? I thought that many parents have a smartphone so my answer to that question was to create an App!

We wanted to create a solution that would help frustrated parents find their calm in the midst of a chaotic parenting moment!  Parents who have downloaded the App are raving about it.

I also believe this will be a great tool for all those who spend time with young children: babysitters, family members, nannies and daycare/ preschool staff. Parents can very easily ask those taking care of their children to carry on with the positive discipline used in their house by providing these concrete examples of how to increase cooperation and reduce tantrums. The Taming Tantrums App will help provide consistency from one caregiver to the next. 

My hope is that when children are in the throws of a meltdown and parents or caregivers are nearing the end of their rope, they will remember they can simply grab their phone to find helpful words to say. I have also included words of encouragement, because we certainly need those sometimes. Parenting educator/ expert colleagues helped me develop each section of topics listed below.

The Taming Tantrums App is organized into groupings of common parenting challenges:

  • Bedtime
  • Biting/ Throwing
  • Defiance
  • Getting Out The Door
  • Daily Jobs (For example: cleaning hands, putting things away)
  • Safety
  • Picky Eating
  • Tantrums (What to do when your child is upset)
  • Transitions (Switching from one activity to the next)
  • Tidy Time
  • Potty Time
  • Whining

Further reading topics are also included:

  • Filling your ALIVE Tanks
  • Calming Yourself Down
  • Empathizing and Encouraging
  • Using Positive Discipline

How to download the App:

The Taming Tantrums App can be found through your iPhone and Android App store by entering “taming tantrums” into the search field. You can also visit my website at www.andreanair.com and click on the front-page link to purchase.

Just visit the App store on your IOS device device and download the app!  For less than a cup of coffee, this app will become your new go-to parenting pick me up.

If you happen to have time to read between sleep deprived nights and toddler-rearing marathon filled days, I invite you to look at my full-length eBook: Taming Tantrums: A Connect Four Parenting Approach to Raising Cooperative Toddlers. I believe the combination of the Taming Tantrums App and eBook will equip you to better handling life with a toddler.

Here is a picture of how App looks as you scroll from top to bottom:

app