Wow, my little one has tantrums too. I don't have any advice to give you, but I'm courious myself as to the responses.

My guy started this a few months back and I noticed two things have helped - A) CONSISTENTLY putting him down, ignoring him and walkin away....and B) making sure he gets enough sleep/food.

When I put him down and walk away, I verbally explain - Mommy Doesn't Do Tantrums and You Need to Be Nice. Granted the explanation is more for me than him...but by saying it consistently, he will learn. Plus, by IGNORING him, I've noticed his tantrums are getting fewer and further between. The eating/sleeping thing is just because I know he gets uber cranky if he's over tired or over hungry so if there have been a particularly bad day with tantrums I can usually pinpoint that the day has been EQUALLY hard with eating/sleeping too.

I have seen an improvement - so take heart - they are learning and they do know.

yep tantrums here as well. ignoring it is the best way to handle it. often kids discover attention is good. good attention vs bad attention doesn't matter its still attention. If you try to deal with the tantrum then the child learns that its working and it only feeds into the issue.

I also found that praising for good things while ignoring the tantrums helped focus my kids into a more positive. If i'm good then i get positive attention. You gotta be careful not to fall into the "if my child is doing ok then I can go do my own thing... she doesn't need me" but if you do to much of 'your own thing" and the child doesn't feeling like they are getting enough attention then they will do whatever it takes to get noticed. I definately find that if I spend more time down playing with the kids and giving direct attention the outbursts are fewer and far between and usually when they're wearing down and getting tired. Hope this helps some

From everything I have read and seen on TV, the experts always suggest you walk away from a tantrum as long as they are not hurting themselves. You must be consistent though, b/c the slightest bit of attention could throw the whole thing off. That is a tough age. That is the age my daughters started becoming more independent so there were def more tantrums. Good luck! You are doing a great job.

My daughter has not gotten to this point but she has hit a few times when I say No...we tell her that's not nice and sometimes give her a time out depending on the situation...and we ignore them too. We don't give in to what she wants and she stops..eventually. I'm sure it's normal and some kids might just have it worse than others..my daughter is 19months and threw a fit similar once a few months back.

She's at an age where she's frustrated...trying to become more independent, knowing she can do some things without help, and needing it in other situations.

From everything I've read and experienced, you're doing the right thing by ignoring the tantrums. Just make sure she's in a place were she won't hit her head, and when she's done...be there for her and ask her if she felt frustrated. Helping her put her feelings into her vocabulary will also help as she gets older.

Don't even let her know you notice the tantrums.

I had a daycare for seven years, took early childhood developmental courses and am now a grandmommy! You're doing one of THE most important jobs right now.

I'm thinking of joining this site as taking care of wee ones is one of my fortes.

From what I remember you posting before, she has several teeth on the way. 12-18 months are about the time when first molars come in. Unlike the other teeth, they can be very slow to come in and hurt to all buggery. It will make kids very irritable and they might not be sleeping well. Pain + lack of sleep = one grump of a kid.

Be understanding and loving and she will grow out of it. I believe strongly against cry it out and I think that any insecure toddler under the age of 3 needs extra support. My daughter was an angel in her first year. Once she turned 12 months and molars started to come in, she became a little nightmare. After the molars and teeth were all in (she only has one set of molars to go and she is done), she went back to being a placid and laid back child.

It pays off to be observant while your child is going through a phase of having tantrums. What is setting them off? What makes your child stop crying? What, as a parent, can you do to help? Is it preventable? It is quite easy to solve if you keep your peeled and use common sense. The worst thing a parent can do is react negatively. That will leave your child feeling like they have done something wrong and add to the frustration. Kids this young do not understand these sort of things just yet.

I'm not sure if she has molars coming in or not, she still only has 5 teeth, and she will be 16 months right away. But I thought maybe it was teething. Now that she has her top chompers when I try and check she just bites me and shakes her head!

Marlow has a decent vocabulary right now. And when she throws her tantrums she yells 'no!'. 'roar!' and 'bang!'. She usually throws them either when she first gets up and we leave her room, or when she doesn't get her way. And NOTHING stops them! I can pick her up, put her down, give her food, drink, a blanket, a toy. The only thing that stops it is her when she has decided enough is enough. Then she gets up, walks over, asks 'up pease' and then snuggles on my lap for half hour or longer.

We just cut out the sucky, but after the tantrums had started. She has gone two days with no soother, and oddly hasn't thrown a fit since we took it. Actually, I went to lay her down(the sucky was only nap and bedtime already) and gave her her soother, and she pushed it away. So I just stopped giving it to her. And tonight she fussed for only ten minutes until she passed out.

Plus, we have started potty training. And she successfully peed on the potty the other day, and refused her sucky that afternoon. Maybe we were laying too much on her at once, and now that she is starting to get it, she isn't getting as mad.

I've also noticed she throws fits when daddy is around, and daddy caves like a wet paper bag! Though he is trying. I make him go downstairs when she screams, so that he doesn't just give in.

I appreciate all your help! Her tantrums are driving me crazy, and I feel like a bad mom when I get frusterated and have to walk out of the room.

In Dr. James Dobson's books, he mentions when he was a little boy and had tantrums. He said something about walking into the living room, and pitching a fit, and his daddy didn't look at him. He stopped, then got louder and his dad ignored him again. Then, his mom walked in and he started again. She, too, ignored him. Then, when he stopped, they both paid attention to him.

I'm not one for letting them 'cry it out' like when they're put down for a nap. I always went into their rooms and read to them with them snuggled in my arms. (I started reading to them when they were two weeks old and leaned them into me with their back into me so they could see the pages. By the time they were about 6 mos, they were turning the cardboard pages. It increases their vocabulary and broadens their vocabulary. They'd cry when I stopped. It is a bonding time, learning time, and pleasureable. My grandbabies love it as well.

When I had my daycare and got a new child, some of the other kids would run to my lap while looking at the new child and tell me my lap belonged to them! LOL I had to get the book 'Siblings w/out Rivalry' not because of my biological kids as they were and still are close, but the daycare kids fought over me.

I did focus on them too. Not looking at mail, but really getting down on their level and talking or listening to them.

My mother-in-law used to tell me I was spoiling them by picking them up when they cried, but I told her I was meeting their needs and they'd be more independent when they grew up. They're grown now and VERY independent!

However, the only time I didn't respond was during a tantrum. As soon as it was over, I took them into my arms.