My 2 sons have very opposite personalities. My first has
always been very easy-going, compassionate, somewhat
cautious/anxious, and not an aggressive bone in his body. My
second is more independent, strong-willed, and fiery. Those
are not bad attributes at all; quite the contrary, actually. Both
boys’ personalities are wonderful in their own ways. They
also require different things.
My fiery one was an aggressive toddler. Starting just
before his third birthday, he used hitting as an outlet for his
frustration, and he was frustrated quite easily. I tried what
felt like 50 different “techniques” to get him to not hit, and
finally this little tool that I’m about to teach you was very
helpful during that phase.
I happened across this free printable online for my kids to
color one day, but you can easily just draw a traffic light on a
sheet of paper. We talked about the light and the meanings
of the three lights, and I hung it on the refrigerator as a
reminder. I hadn’t planned on this becoming a “thing” at our
house, but it evolved into a very helpful tool for all of us.
Red – Stop
Yellow – Calm Down
Green – Go
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