Gentle parenting tips?

I can tell you what I do. It’s not a waste of time to correct the behaviour but there is a limit to how fast they can be expected to get it so I focus on how I react to the behaviour over what the behaviour actually is. We do a lot of work on deep breathing and other coping skills so that when my son starts to get worked up I can try to jump on it before he actually starts being difficult. Often when I stop to think about it his behaviour is either because he’s been cooped up inside and hasn’t gotten enough active play that day or because I shouldn’t have left the temptation out (like if a pop can gets tipped over when I should have just put the can away). In those cases step one is to explain why we don’t do whatever it is, then I redirect or change the room we are in to reset, then I correct whatever I think caused the problem to begin with.

Disclaimer, I don't have much experience with toddlers as I have a 17 month old (toddler-ish) and most of what I'm going to share are from conscious parenting articles I read, so feel free to take what I have to say with a grain of salt!
My LO has been having mini tantrums almost on the daily now that she's getting older. During these moments, and assuming we're in a safe spot to allow this, I just let the tantrum ride out. I don't try to reason with my LO in that moment since babies and toddlers will not be able to be reasoned with when they're emotions are heightened, and I also don't try to offer comfort if she isn't receptive; that said, I keep a small distance but stay close enough so that she can always come over to me if she wants comfort.
When she's done, I always try to talk about how she felt in the moment so that she can understand her emotions. That way, if she ever experiences anger (for example), she'll be able to let me know and we can work through it. (cont.)

This is definitely not an overnight solution and you will have the same conversations for what feels like a billion times before LO learns how to constructively express themselves, so be sure to give both you and LO some grace in these moments. If you ever get overwhelmed, understand it's okay to take a moment to collect yourself before returning to address the issue.

As far as what you can do to try to avoid tantrums: try offering options where you can or find ways to make an unenjoyable task more fun for your LO.
Example for options: if your LO struggles with mealtimes, maybe having them pick out utensils or cups they will use (idk if you have multicolored ones) might encourage them to enjoy it a bit more.
Another example I can think of (making an unenjoyable task more fun): my LO has a hard time leaving playdates but she has a pair of squeak shoes that are her absolute favorite, so instead of telling her that we need to go home, I just tell her we need to put her shoes on and get in the car; we're usually out the door without a single tear spilt.
Sorry for long posts. 🥲 Hope they help some!

One “trick” I use to help diffuse tantrums is to ask questions that are wrong. Like I’ll pick up a blue ball and ask my son if it’s yellow, or say is Lightning McQueen a green race car? I usually do color questions because he’s good with colors but we’ve been branching out. Often things deescalate because to answer he has to access his language-his Dr recommended this to us when we asked for help with his head banging tantrums, not always though but it helps enough I thought I’d share.

The only other thing I do is when he’s screaming at me for whatever he wants, I’ll act really concerned and tell him I can’t understand him when he yells, or say I can’t hear you when you talk like that can you say it again like normal? I just keep telling him I’m sorry I can’t understand please tell me what you want, and often that will calm his voice down (after a bit more yelling). Then I’ll repeat it and tell him thank you for telling me and act all relieved I can understand now. Good luck!

What helped with my son was asking him if he wants a hug. 80% of the time he'd say yes. Then we do deep breaths & I ask him what happened to make him angry/sad. He's 3 & the tantrums are worse than when he was 2 lol. Honestly sometimes I just let him cry it out😅 he'll go in his room, cry, have his tantrum then when he's done he'll come out his room & sit with me. I think it's important for him to feel his emotions. I let him know his feelings are valid & we talk about solutions. He's extremely sensitive just like me. I'm still learning how to handle my temper so I treat him how I'd want someone to treat me when I'm feeling big emotions. I've learned that gentle parenting is mostly about patience for myself & it's actually helped me nit just be a better mom but overall a better person bc I handle certain situations better than I did before. It's still a struggle & we're both still learning but its worth it.
Keep going you got this!