Tantrums !!!

[Oneluckymom]

I have a 21 month old who is VERY picky with food....a carb eater.

She has had the WORST tantrums for the last 2 weeks. Crying for at least half an hour. Screaming and crying rolling around on floor...all of it.

1. We had been painting and we were done so I cleaned up....tantrum.

2. I served oatmeal for breakfast last week and when she saw what it was she went into an all out fit.

3. This morning I served cheerios and she has been in a fit for an hour over the fact that she had milk in her bowl with cheerios. I have always served her cheerios with milk.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?? I knew she was very picky about food and refuse to play that game...she either eats it or she doesn't.

How do I handle these horrible tantrums?

[MsLaura529]

Sounds like she's trying to test her limits ... my son started to do some nasty tantrums around that age, too. Occasionally, he will still go off screaming and stomping, but he calms down a lot more quickly, now. I would find a safe spot for him to sit as soon as the tantrum started, and just repeatedly tell him, "when you are ready to settle down and join us, then you can get up". It wasn't a "time out" situtation, it was more of a "calm down" sitation. We also realized that helping feel a little bit "in charge" of the situation helped A LOT. If he was playing with something and it was time to clean up or sharing it with his sister, we would tell him "Last time Max" and he would do something with it for about5 more seconds, then happily hand it off or clean it up.

[My3cents]

I have a 21 month old who is VERY picky with food....a carb eater.

She has had the WORST tantrums for the last 2 weeks. Crying for at least half an hour. Screaming and crying rolling around on floor...all of it.

1. We had been painting and we were done so I cleaned up....tantrum.

2. I served oatmeal for breakfast last week and when she saw what it was she went into an all out fit.

3. This morning I served cheerios and she has been in a fit for an hour over the fact that she had milk in her bowl with cheerios. I have always served her cheerios with milk.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?? I knew she was very picky about food and refuse to play that game...she either eats it or she doesn't.

How do I handle these horrible tantrums?

don't give her attention to the tantrum. Give her the choice of food and let her choose if she wants to eat it or not. She will eat when she is hungry, make it simple not a battle of choice.

[Heidi]

My dcb went through that (and can be a picky eater as well).

Find a cozy spot aka "crying corner" for as pp suggested. I usually say something like "it hurts my ears when you yell like that. You can come back when you are ready to be quieter".

If you see it comming, which you sometimes can, try to calmly see if you can negotiate a wee bit. Not cater to every request, just give small choices or a little control to her when you can. If it's almost time to clean up, give everyone a 5 minute warning. That sometimes helps.

My dcb grew out of it once he could communicate better. He rarely has issues now. So, modeling language is another tool that'll shorten the tantrum period.

But there'll still be some.

[Hunni Bee]

I used to have a couple that did that. Screamed, threw the plate, acted ridiculous when something they didn't want appeared on their plate.

Any screaming at the table resulting in their meal being over, no second chances. Food dumped, taken down from the table and sent on their merry (or un-merry) way. Usually to nap. Eventually both of them learned to not ask for/put it on their plates, or eat around it if there wasn't a choice.

Screaming = leave. In any situation, for any reason (other that being legitimately hurt or upset). I learned that from here. An audience gives them the impression that it could still work. Leaving lets them know nothing more will go on until the screaming stops.