Does your toddler throw a fit every time you tell them it's time to leave the park? Do they freak out whenever you announce it is meal time, bath time, or bedtime? This is totally normal and is called a Transition Tantrum. They can be difficult to deal with, especially for younger toddlers. Luckily, there are some ways to minimize Transition Tantrums for a more stress-free environment for both you and your toddler. Keep reading to learn our best tantrum busters and how bubbles can play a huge part!

What Is a Transition Tantrum?

Transition Tantrums are when your toddler has a difficult time switching gears from one activity, place, or environment to another. The most common Transition Tantrum triggers include leaving the park or playground, turning off the TV or other device, and getting ready for bedtime.

Why Do Transition Tantrums Happen?

Understanding the root causes of Transition Tantrums can help parents respond with more patience and effectiveness.

Here's why they happen:

• Your toddler does not have a fully developed sense of time yet. They can't sense that lunch time is approaching, which makes your suggestion of getting ready to leave the park a huge blow to them.
• Toddlers crave independence and control. Being told that they need to stop what they are doing can be very difficult for them to deal with, especially if it is sudden.
• Toddlers cannot regulate their emotions. The ability to stay calm isn't quite there yet. Your child is going to show you exactly how they are feeling without any qualms.

Kids with sensory issues are sometimes prone to dramatic meltdowns — emotional outbursts that they can't control — when they are overwhelmed by unexpected changes. Although sensory processing is not a diagnostic term like ADHD or autism, kids with either disorder — or no disorder — can have sensory processing issues, which can lead to problems with transitions. For kids who are easily overstimulated, the world feels confusing and seems to move too fast. They crave order, which helps them feel calm and in control. "When you change things up on them too quickly," says Dr. Michael Rosenthal, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist, "then you see resistance or problem behaviors." Source: Child Mind Institute

How Can I Switch Gears Without a Transition Tantrum?

If your family struggles with this specific type of tantrum, there are some ways you can help minimize them. The goal for you and your toddler is to minimize the shock factor of being forced to switch gears and bridge the old activity and the new activity together.

Start a Countdown

Let your toddler know well in advance that it is almost time to switch gears. This can include:

• Showing your toddler how the clock will look when it's time to go
• Starting a timer on your phone with a countdown to refer to
• Setting an alarm on your phone with reminders
• Allowing them to slowly transition, such as offering "three more trips down the slide" or "one more page to color"

Use Visual Timers

As mentioned above, starting a countdown that they can see will be a big help. Toddlers do not understand the concept of five minutes versus ten minutes, so starting a timer they can see helps them grasp that time is disappearing.

Using a sand timer is especially helpful for toddlers because they can see the sand going down and understand that transitioning is not something that you, as a parent, are making them do — rather, the sand dictates that it is time to switch gears.

Offer a Choice

As you know, your toddler loves to have control. Rather than telling them to put the chalk away and come inside, giving them a choice will help make them feel like it is something they are in control of. Ways you can transition your child for dinner, bath, or bedtime include:

• Which PJ's do you want to wear tonight?
• Do you want to come help me pick which chair Mommy sits at for dinner?
• Which fruit do you want with dinner — strawberries or blueberries?

Use a Transition Toy

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your toddler will still have a meltdown if they have to abandon what they are doing. Sometimes, taking a "piece" of the old activity to the new activity helps, such as bringing home a rock from the park.

Rather than loading your stroller up with random sticks and rocks, bring a bubble wand with you as a Transition Toy. Here are the benefits and key things to remember:

• Your toddler will begin to understand that once this toy comes out, the end of the activity is soon coming.
• You can bring the bubbles from the old activity to the new one — such as leaving the park and blowing bubbles on the walk home, or going from the backyard to the bathtub.
• It makes it feel like the old activity hasn't really fully stopped, and that they are still in control.

Plus, a huge benefit of using bubbles as the transition toy is that bubbles have anti-anxiety and calming properties:

• Deep, rhythmic breaths promote calm and reduce stress
• Watching bubbles float and pop is relaxing
• The toddler-friendly bubble wand puts them in complete control