The HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired) Strategy: How to Respond Temper Tantrums

Sometimes there is no amount of talking through a tantrum. Your child may not be thinking straight for another, more basic reason.

I heard about this little trick in the audiobook of Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson’s The Whole-Brain Child:

HALT and ask yourself:

• Hungry: Is my child hungry?
• Angry: Is my child angry?
• Lonely: Is my child feeling lonely?
• Tired: Is my child tired?

If the answer is “yes” to any one of these questions, then the many other strategies to help integrate your child’s brain might not work.

Focus on those basic needs first, then help them develop mentally and emotionally.

The HALT Method for Parents and Teachers When a child is having a tantrum or a meltdown, pause and as yourself to HALT. Is the child hungry? Is the child angry? Is the child lonely? Is the child tired? Sometimes a child just cannot think rationally about their behavior until these issues are addressed. Trying to talk things through with a child will be difficult. I have found the best thing to do is have as much patience as possible in the moment then once the HALT is overcome or subsides, have a conversation and talk through strategies with the young person later. #wholebrainchild #wholebrainteaching #parentingtips #parentinghacks #parentingtools #teachingstrategies #tantrum #tantrums #meltdown

A post shared by Jared Dees (@jareddees) on Aug 21, 2018 at 2:43am PDT