Temper Tantrums

Your one stop internet resource to understand and control temper tantrums.

Home

Understanding Tantrums

Managing Tantrums

Seeking Medical Help

Featured Video

© 2009.  TemperTantrums.org.  All rights reserved.

Caleb’s Tantrum 

...what Caleb’s mother did wrong

Caleb wants noodles for breakfast.  Mom keeps saying “no.”  Mom makes no attempt to re-direct Caleb’s attention to another topic.  As a result, his attention remains focused on noodles.

On a few occasions, Caleb’s mother laughs at him as he continues to focus on getting noodles.  No one likes to be laughed at, including Caleb. 

Caleb’s mother allows him to climb on a chair and actually get the noodles although she clearly has no intention of letting him have the noodles for breakfast. The situation escalates as Caleb continues to focus on noodles and continues to become more and more invested in getting what he wants. 

Caleb’s mother tells him he is being a “brat.”  He begins crying.  She laughs at him and he escalates further.  Note that laughing at a child who is upset is as disrespectful to the child as it would be to an adult and will only serve to upset the child further.  If a parent wants to be respected, he or she must behave in a respectful manner.  Be a good role model.  Children tend to imitate what they see. 

While Caleb is crying, his mother tells him he is very cute.  At this point, Caleb begins hitting the couch.  He is very frustrated—understandably so.  We now hear a male voice (seemingly his father’s) that calls him a “baby.”  So at this time, we have added name  calling into the equation—disrespectful and very poor role modeling.