Mar 14 2009
TEMPER TANTRUMS, HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH IT?
As Kaitlyn my youngest is getting older her temper and tantrum are getting worse and worse. I don’t know where this is coming from. She use to be such a sweet mild mannered baby but lately she has been very bad tempered. At 16 months old she has been getting around the house and pretty much do whatever she wants. She is a very active, independent little person. If she doesnt get her way she throws such a fit, screams and hits herself. I’m at a loss, I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to read about advice from doctors, I want to hear from other parents that deal with this situation on a day to day basis. It scares me that she might grow up with this temper and I don’t want that. What do you do when your child throws a temper tantrum? Is this really natural? I feel so embarrass and helpless when she has this episodes. I try to soothe her but the more she cries and fights me. I don’t know what to do. She is into jumping up and down screaming at the top of her lungs while covering her mouth and sometimes biting her hand from frustration. Ralph said that this is natural and that maybe she is just going on that terrible two’s stage. I really hope that Ralph is right.
My daughter used to throw the same type of fits. I would pick her up, put her in her room, shut the door and walk away. If she would come out, I would pick her up and put her back in her room. I wouldn’t let her out until she was finished. Then we would talk about what got her so angry. After a while she would come out and say, “I better now.” It was pretty cute the first time she did it. I absolutely never ever deviated from the rule. Even if we were out in public and she did it, the car served as her room. Sure it was a pain. But after a while, she learned that when she was not allowed to disrupt the entire world with her frustrations. I figured if she needed to scream, she could. I mean sometimes don’t we all need to scream and cry…especially when we’re feeling out of control? But she needed to learn that she couldn’t disrupt the entire house to do so. Now she’s 7 and when she feels the need to let it all out she takes herself to her room and does it. But most of the time now she’s figured out how to express verbally what’s making her crazy. It’s really worked. Hope that helps you.