[Barbiescraps]

My 6 yr. old son NEVER did this at that age! Could it be just a girl thing??? For example, last night she wanted my freeze pop, I said No, because she had her own ice cream and goodies. She just stared at me and threw her sippy cup down and then kicked it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then she stammered all the way to the kitchen with her head down the entire time and stood in the kitchen for a long time! I kept calling her name, she would just walk further away!
She has been doing more and more of this when she doesnt get her way.
Today, she was upstairs in my room and I blocked the doorway so she couldnt get out (the stairs are close to my bedroom door...) she threw herself so dramatically onto the floor and was crying and pouting. She wouldnt lift her head or anything???
Any advice?????????

[DD Amasa]

I'm afraid I don't have any advice for you, but I've seen so many little girls behave this way. Maybe it is a girl thing. My five year old niece outgrew it around age four but my three year old niece is still behaving this way. It's very frustrating. They are such sweets girls otherwise. But they have spent so much time in "time-outs" for this. The younger one actually now puts herself into time out after a tantrum.

[posh]

The best thing I found for tantrums was ignore them. Kids have to be made aware of unacceptable behavior. My son use to have tantrums and I got so tired of it one day I imitated him. I threw myself on the floor kicking and screaming just like he did. You know he never did it again!! lol Good luck!

[cerca]

My girls did this (one more than the other). I would ignore the meltdowns but use time-out for unaaceptable behavior like hitting or spitting. Sometimes it is just their nature to be dramatic. One of my daughters has outgrown it but we like to say the other will be a great actress one day and support her VERY understanding parents (she is this close to loosing her door if she slams it one more time!!!...I can't wait for 16!!!)

Good luck,
Jess

[lisam00]

My darling little 18 month old has been doing this stuff for the last month or so. I cannot believe the dirty looks she can give before the little tantrum starts. When she starts, I just walk away and ignore her. She stops pretty darn quickly. My husband, on the other hand, tries to get her to stop and she just goes on and on and on for him. I'm thinking that I need to teach more behaviors to him than to her!

God bless,
Lisa

[Barbiescraps]

yes, i get the dirty looks too and she pulled my hair when she didnt get her way! She got her little hand spanked for that one!!! (lightly.. lol)

[joepegcamp]

We're at the beginning of the process, so I don't have personal experience of my own child doing the drama queen.

However, I am a reformed Drama Queen. I've been a Drama Queen since I was born. My parents, siblings and husband have learned to ignore me.

And, by the way, I did outgrow my Drama Queen when I was 30

The advice others gave you was right on: Ignore her. And brace yourself for when the hormones kick in when she's about 12. (My goodness, I was a handful.)

[DianaPrince]

Maria is 20 months old, and she is quite the fit thrower when she is told "no" . . . but, you have to tell them "no" and show them that it means "no." I'm pretty sure I would not be nearly so adamant about this were I not a teacher because I wouldn't understand what weakness in this area can lead to . . .

Hang in there!
Valerie

[kcbailey777]

My daughter started throwing her head back and arching her back at about 9 months or maybe even earlier. I just say her name or say no in a voice that says I am not playing and she stops. Now she thinks when I say no it is funny and she makes me laugh but that is another story.

The best way to stop the drama is to ignore her. You give her power when you do things like call her name or try to prevent her from throwing her little fit. This is really hard to do but never give in when she is throwing a fit. If you do even once it will continue. Now if I can only follow my own advice.

Lisa

[jillbee]

Welcome to my world! I have two drama queens (and one drama king). The best way I have found to correct the tantrums is to try to avoid them if possible...making sure the little drama queen is not too hungry/thirsty/tired/bored. That said, when tantrums still occur, I try to ignore then and remove the audience, because what is a really good fit if there is no one to witness it?? Either I leave the room, or I have the offending aspiring actress sit on the steps in our front hall for a few minutes. Then I lavish attention when their behavior is appropriate.

Interestingly, my SIL (a PHD in early childhood development) witnessed one of Maria's recent fits and was just delighted with it. "It is SO age appropriate!! I am so proud of her! This is a huge milestone!" I thought she was crazy but she said that this occurs at about 18-36 months because they are completely restructuring their language. They begin to talk noun, then noun-verb, then essentially redo everything and start to use more complex sentences and it's very frustrating to them. Now that we're hearing more complex sentences about how she feels and things that happened in the past and things that will happen in the future...her tantrums are starting to become less frequent.

A good resource for me has been the book "Raising Your Spirited Child." Good Luck!

Jill

[LadyTink]

Gabriella has been doing this since she was 9 months old. It really worries me because she just throws herself backward and has actually hit her head on furniture or anything in her way several times. I have tried to anticipate the tantrums, but that's not always possible. What seems to work best for us is either ignoring her and letting her get it out or distracting her with something else. If I'm dealing with tantrums at such a young age, can you imagine what it will be like when she hits the terrible 2s????

Hang in there!!

[LMR]

My background is in teaching children with severe behavior problems. Without knowing your family,there are three strategies that I would recommend using: ignore non-dangerous behaviors (verbally address her inappropriate behavior once, then try not to make eye contact and do not engage in conversation), be consistent and follow through on what you say. If you tell her that she will go to time out the next time she kicks something, put her in time out the next time she kicks something. Time out is good for dangerous behaviors (kicking, throwing things, hitting, biting, etc.). The general rule for time out is one minute for each year they are old. Have one designated area for time out. The last strategy is the most important: Praise her when she acts appropriately. She may just be looking for the negative attention that she receives when she acts out. This is a good place to start. Hope it helps.

[Niclayson]

My second daughter was quite the tantrum queen. Completely ignoring her and walking away as if her screams weren't bothering me one bit (which IS hard in the middle of the supermarket) resulted in shorter and eventually less frequent fits. I'd say she was over it by age 3. I NEVER gave in to the tantrum. Kept my cool and simply waited. Did a lot of counting to 10 silently! LOL

My 11 month old son is starting this type of behavior already....yikes!

[Mandy4President]

LMR couldn't have said it better. My daughter actually never really did this, but my kids are pretty laid back. She does give me the dirty looks, though. I think it's a personality thing and I've found with my kids that the key is CONSISTENCY. You can't expect them to know what you want them to do if you change your behavior every time they misbehave. And also remember that kids like structure. They crave having a schedule and to know what it coming next. Since my kids are so laid back, I'm really expecting to get it when Addy comes home. All my friends tell me that she's going to be a handful since my other three were so easy, but as long as she is HOME I'm not sure I'll mind .

BTW, my sister used to do the holding breath and fainting thing. That was scary!