[finallyamom0310]

I thought it was time for another fun thread about our kids. What is it that sets your kids off into a tantrum, if they are in the tantrum stage that is?

DD is just getting to the tantrum stage and I narrowly avoided our second public tantrum. The first one was over leaving the store too soon. She was playing with the merchandise and leaving a mess for me to keep picking up. This second one was over blueberries and not getting to eat them in the store.

[fisbaby]

My little guy is only 10 months old but is really starting to be quite awnry! We are trying to teach him what not to mess with by saying no no and / or moving him and he thinks it's hilarious. Either that or if it makes him mad like when you cover his mouth to stop the screaming or when you grab his hand to stop the hitting, he will swat your arms away or just really pout out his lip and cry!

[ChromaKelly]

Let's see.. in the past couple days, Bea (the tantrumer, Ainsley's more laid back) has had a tantrum about -

-My mother drew a kite on the Doodle-Pro incorrectly
-DH going to work (he works from home!)
-DH was in the bathroom and she needed to go, I said use the other bathroom or the little potty. No, she decided to pee on the floor.
-Because I wouldn't give her the Tivo remote.

[tanmansmom]

TJ will be 2 in a couple of weeks. The easier question is what doesn't he throw a tantrum about?!?

[Stormster]

E doesn't like when you try to remove things from his vice like grip

He arches his back and slides down every time we put him in the highchair, carseat or stroller. Because of this we sometimes call him "Archie"

He's never been fond of having his diapers changed....this we call "Wrestling the Alligator"

[aallen25]

I have a 10 mth old going through this phase already also. DD has started throwing tantrums when something she shouldn't be playing with is taken away from her or if she wants something she can't have and it is not given to her. She'll start screaming/crying and if you're holding her she arches her back so it's hard to keep hold of her and if she's standing or sitting somewhere she just collapses and continues to cry....very dramatic!
Fortunately she doesn't do this often but I've decided if this is a glimpse into the future I want to press pause here!

[aallen25]

Stormster- DD used to do the same arching thing when we would put her in her carseat. There were times I literally had to just hold her down until she gave up and settled so I could strap her in. Those were not fun times!

[Stormster]

Alicia EXACTLY! I hold him just above the seat/stroller/chair until his body relaxes and then I pounce!

[mg1970]

We just returned from vacation across country - about a 12 hour trip if you include the drive between airports, layover, etc. When we were at our layover my son was so tired he kept laying down while we were in line for the "potty" and he was telling me he was tired. Everyone in line thought he was adorable.

Well when we got to the plane he was getting punchy -- he started messing with the tray table. He was barely started when the lady in front of him complained that he was kicking her seat. Well you all know what happens next. It's enevitable -- your kid is about to melt down and you pick a fight over something like a tray table and it just goes to the next level. So I tell him he needs to stop touching the tray table and he starts yelling and kicking. Then the B***h in front says loudly, "You know they should have a separate plane for people with small children. It would make it so much more enjoyable for the rest of us." And starts to go on about how she had 3 of her own and they never acted like that... blah blah blah. I said in return "Well they ought to have a separate plane for people who complain a lot." (Later I thought of a better comeback, like "a separate plane for mean old ladies."

So at that point my son (age 3) was really out of control and I said to my DH -- "you know, I'm not really worried about it anymore" and I ignored him and let him kick and scream away. The stewardess stopped by and asked my son (not me) if he was OK, to which he started screaming louder. (Clearly she doesn't have kids -- she should know better than to give a tantruming toddler attention.) Symapthetic passengers asked us how old he was and where we were traveling from.

As I predicted, as soon as the jet engines came on and the plane took off he went to sleep and slept through the entire trip.

So take a over-tired 3 year old about to melt down, insist that he stop something mildly annoying, give him extra attention when he is tantruming, and you have a recipie for a major meltdown. However if you just ignore him and let him work his frustration out (within reason - don't let him hurt others or himself) and he will quickly fizzle out.

I'm guessing the old lady with the superior parenting skills whose kids never acted that way either forgot what it was like to have a toddler, or she never took her kids anywhere.

M

[jules17]

If you even think of altering Luke's food in any way (spooning it aside, cutting it, etc.) you are IN for IT.

I have learned to do all alterations out of his sight and then give it to him.

Sometimes he wants his banana cut - but you have to ask ...never assume. The "banana assumption incident" created many, many tears.

[Tazer]

OK I am giving a "long time ago" report since our twins are almost 17 year olds now. For some reason after they learned to feed themselves they decided that no two foods should ever touch and they would only eat one item at a time; ie: 1st eat all the meat, then all the corn, then all the potatoes; but never a spoon of this followed by a spoon of that. If the corn somehow ran over into the potatoes it was a wrap, dinner was over and the scream-fest was on. Gravy and any type of sauce was a no-no! They'd demand trays with separate compartments instead of plates and would raise HECK times two if given anything else! Well not all resturants or friends homes have these type of "trays" but always knowing I had these type of kids, I brought ours from home. Imagine the shock of the wait staff when I'd reach into my bag and pull out what these little love bugs were demanding for them to serve their food on. We didn't eat out much. Tracy

[Saya]

I posted a few weeks ago on the Guat board about how Anabel threw a major tantrum because I (not HER mind you) wouldn't put on my shoes.

Many of her tantrums are clothing-related. She has VERY strong feelings about who should be wearing what when, and if it doesn't happen, WATCH OUT. God forbid you should tell her that you don't wear snow boots in the summer.

[ourdreamcametru]

Very few things send Castle over the edge but the one thing that does is when she sees a house being built and we don't stop to go inside. Awhile back we were thinking about moving so we were house shopping and she loved it I guess.

[jalapeno]

Let's see . . . some of her most recent tantrums were over . . . well here I'll dialogue one for you:

Me: Do you want a blue or green plate?
DD: Green (and I set the green plate down in front of her)
DD: NO! BLUE BLUE BLUE! (and I trade the green plate for the blue)
DD: NO GREEN! I WANT GREEN!
Me: You said you wanted blue.
DD: NO GREEN GREEN GREEN!
Me: You insisted you wanted blue so you'll need to eat off the blue.
DD: (commences screaming, pounding on table, sobbing, etc - usually this type of thing tends to happen towards the END of the day )

[HappyHopefulMommy]

Well..... let's see. My bio daughter was not a tantrumer at all. But, my 3 we were just placed with are. Here are some examples of what has caused tantrums in the past week:

me asking them to wash their hands with soap (not just water) after going to the bathroom

I have had the "I said I wanted the pink plate" one when she first said she wanted red.

Be careful where you are walking - you almost ran into someone (my 6 year old)

Wow - I could go on and on, but I am too tired. But, in my kids defense, I have only had them 1 1/2 weeks so they are totally new to my home and our family and the way we do things. I am sure it will get better.