Terrible Twos - Tantrums!

I suggest that you be firm in disciplining your child. I have a 15-month old who would throw tantrums once in a while. He would arch his back violently and scream to the top of his lungs. I hold him tightly when he does this and try to calm him down. I speak to him in a gentle but firm voice telling him that he has to stop. I also look at him straight in the eyes to let him know that I'm not happy with his behavior. Most of the time it works. For the times that he is just uncontrollable, I put him in his playpen and let him stay there for a few minutes. This is my form of time out. Sometimes, he'd get distracted and stop immediately. Rarely, he would just cry it out. I keep a close eye on him to make sure that he doesn't hurt himself. The important thing, I think, is to be consistent, firm and immediate in stopping this kind of behavior. The child should be clear in which behaviors are not acceptable at an early age.

I agree with gabesmom. Be firm and consistent. My little one is 4 years old, and I really think that 3 was worse than 2 years old, but that could just be my kiddo. When she would TRY to have a tantrum I would just ignore her and let her fall on the ground...tell her I wasn't going to listen and walk away. Now granted, I didn't do that in a store or just leave her alone...but it took away exactly what she wanted which was my attention. Once she calmed down and looked for me I talked to her about what she'd done and put her in time out...over and over. :) It finally got to the point where I just looked at her and she knew she needed to change the way she was acting. I think there's nothing wrong with a little bit of fear. I think a child should be able to know exactly what will happen to them should they disobey or act up. That's why consistency is the most important thing.