According to a study published in the Child Development magazine of July this year, researchers say that the challenging behavior (some mixture of anger and resistance) that some young children have can be good for their development.
The study consisted of observing the behavior of a group of children between 14 and 27 months of age, who received toys to play with their mothers, as they normally would. After a while, the mothers had to tell them to leave the toys because the game time was over.
The researchers found that many of the children whose mothers showed a more positive and sensitive attitude during the game, became challenging when they were told that playtime was over, while anger was less in children of mothers with symptoms of depression or a less positive attitude to the game
According to scientists, the anger and resistance of children in the so-called "terrible age" are not a sign of bad behavior or that they do not receive proper care, but rather a normal stage of development. However, this does not mean that parents should give in to their anger or rebellion, what we must do is be patient since at this stage children are learning to control their emotions.
According to one of the researchers it is difficult to establish a pattern of when the challenging attitude in children should be expected to disappear, but around 3 and a half years, children should show more control.
What particularly reassures me a lot, because during the last year in certain circumstances that cause him anger and rage, my son is often challenging us, and I hope that in a few months he can control his anger a little more.
