Temper Tantrums Already?!?!

Michelle - posted on 12/11/2009

ignore, ignore and ignore. unless a child is physically hurting himself ignore him and he would than realize that he is getting nowhere by throwing tantrums. tantrums are simply a cry for attention an if you give in that means they are succesful so why would they stop.

Claire - posted on 12/11/2009

hi i have an 8mo old who do's this i just ignore him or move him away and he quickly learns that the behaviour will not get what he wants!!

Erin - posted on 12/11/2009

Yeah, I agree. I would ignore it. eventually he will figure out throwing a fit isn't getting the attention he wants, so he will stop. It works for my son that way.

ASHLEY - posted on 12/10/2009

ignore the tantrum the best you can dont bother explaining why because he may not be able to grasp the situation yet to him all thats happening is mommy gives me eye contact and extra attention when i do this. at that age i used to hold my breath until i passed out so it could be worse lol

Cecilia - posted on 12/10/2009

maybe that has something to do with it, due to economic difficulties we are staying with my mother, as is my sister and her 2.5 yr old daughter who is "mildly" lacking in discipline. anyway, she often has temper tantrums, possibly, you've helped pick up on the source of this(lol)...

also, i should say it's possible my husband acts like that(wants to ignore the temper tantrums) bc unfortunately due to work circumstances he is only home for 1 two 2 days out of the week, the rest of the time he stays at his sister's home bc that's the town where his boss leaves from(he works in construction and leaves early and gets home late so it's easier than me driving him the 40 min to that town at 4 am in the morning when we've only been asleep for 4 or 5 hours)...

Andrea - posted on 12/10/2009

My 8 month old daughter will have these little Temper Tantrums. I have already started telling her that we do not act like this and she will clam down after a few min.. I think part of mine is that i also have a 2 year old boy and he will from time to time ( not often at all only after he has stayed with my Cousins) and she see him do this and i think she is picked up on it.. With my 2 year old i tell me we don't act like this or i will just go about my stuff i was doing.. They can't scream forever.. lol.. Over all kids will be kids and they find the way to express them self.. Best wishes

Cecilia - posted on 12/10/2009

i know the books say "they'll start to show their personality...", but, i thought stubborness wouldnt hit for a few more years...lol

Amber - posted on 12/10/2009

I also have a 10 month old who has started throwing tantrums to get her way. If her dad isn't home (because I have the same problem with mine as you do with yours, lol) I'll ignore her until she stops. If he is home, I'll take her into her room and put her in the crib until she stops. Since I've been doing this, we've been seeing a decrease in tantrums all together :)

Justine - posted on 12/10/2009

i have exactly the same problem. a 10 month old with a stubborn streak. i have had trouble with him because he is very bull-headed (like his father) and there is no reasoning with a kid this age. mine likes to get into my books and pull them all off the shelf. simply ignoring him just isnt an option. if you find something that works, i would love if you would let me know!

Cecilia - posted on 12/10/2009

Thank you everyone...as a new mom, it helps to know I'm on the right track. Sometimes his father and I have conflicting views on discipline because of his age, dad would have him get away with everything and break him of the habits later, meanwhile I'd rather he not have said habits to begin with. So once again thank you for the reinforcement.

Janet - posted on 12/10/2009

Personally for me, if I was in your situation, I wouldn't even acknowledge the tantrum. I wouldn't say anything, and I would not make any eye contact, I would just continue doing what I was doing before he went into tantrum mode. He will soon find out that he is not getting the reaction he wants and will stop. The worst thing you can do is under estimate how smart babies are, they are very smart and can understand a lot more than we think they can. If it is a tantrum he knows exactly what he is doing and if he continues to do them then he is getting exactly what type of reaction from you that he wants. You need to pick your battles, which ones you will let go and which ones you won't stand for. We as parents are the rule makers not our children. If you are out and about and he throws a tantrum, leave the store, or keep shopping but don't cave in and give him what he wants. If you do it will never end, and the tantrums will just get bigger, louder and more dramatic as he gets older. We have all had a crying child in the store it comes with the territory of being a parent.

A true story of mine for you: When my middle child was 2 I was in Super Store standing in line waiting to pay for a few groceries. My son decided he wanted a chocolate bar, I said no. And he thought he would try the tantrum trick on me. He started to cry and yell, so I grabbed a magazine from the side rack and started to read it out loud to myself, loud enough so it drowned out him. After a few minutes he stopped. People in the line up were looking at me, probably thinking I was crazy, but I didn't care. After I finished paying for my groceries, and started to walk out of the store, an older woman came up and told me she was proud of me, for not giving into him. Even though I didn't need the validation, it was very nice to hear. That was a year ago, and he hasn't tried it again.

Veronica - posted on 12/10/2009

My son did the same thing, I just repeatedly did what you are doing and told him that this was unacceptable and then would distract him with something else. I tried not to give into him because I didn't want him to learn this as a way to get his way. so, I guess the best thing is to be consistant and firm in your word. While, yes, he doesn't fully understand everything, he does understand "No"

Naila - posted on 12/10/2009

you COULD try to simply ignore him but what I personally do is take the item away/take him away from the item he should not be playing with & tell him "no" and explain why as simply as possible. For example, my sons likes to dig through trash...I say "no, that's Caca (dirty)" and then give him something he can play with. Teaches him what he can and cannot play with. :-)