Tantrum Tales

 Do as much as you can ahead of time, and allow yourself a little extra time each morning for that unexpected temper tantrum or whatever. ~ Barry Izsak

It's possible I may have given the impression that things are all Elmo and Space around here these days, that my adorable child is both gracious and brilliant.  This is not one hundred percent true.

Even without a calendar I could have told you that Maeve is nearly two.  I have been lucky so far that she has not insisted on doing everything herself, or insisted that everything is "mine", but there is a two-letter word that comes up in conversation around here pretty regularly.

The worst part at the moment is the screaming.  When her little desires are thwarted, Maeve tends to scream at the top of her lungs, probably because it gets a reaction, and makes her feel powerful.  But she's also adept at throwing her self to the ground, or performing little stomping fits.  And it's hard to decide what to do about it.

If we're outdoors or not at home, I am careful about the throwing-herself-to-the-ground kind, those immediately end whatever activity we are out doing.  I will just pack her up in the car and go home, whenever at all possible.  But the vast majority of her tantrums happen at home.

My approach varies, but most of the time I give a stern instruction (No screaming!) and then ignore her.  That hopefully sends both messages, that this is unacceptable, and that it gets you nowhere.  And of course I don't give in... unless I decipher that she needs a nap.  Ignoring her does not quickly end the tantrum, and sometimes they stretch on, but I try to either keep ignoring her, or distract her into another activity by just sitting and playing with one of her toys. 

I also try to acknowledge her feelings sometimes, if I can tell she's just overwhelmed with frustration or anger, I give it a name.  (I can tell you're angry that I said no to you; Are you frustrated that you can't find the book you want?)  I know a lot of what's hard about being a toddler is the rush of emotion that comes nameless out of the void, so I try to give it a word and a name.

I don't have any pics of her in the throes of a tantrum, so just enjoy the cute robot shirt action.