throwing a fit for no reason

What do you do when your child does this? Mine has been doing it increasingly often and nothing you can do calms him so I have just been letting him throw his fits. Is there something else you can do about this or no?

How old?

And no, nothing you can really do but let them do it.

I walk away and tell him to use his words (or his version of his words at least). He wants something and wants the negative attention to get it for him. If he's truly beside himself I put him to bed because he's likely tired.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Let the rain fall:</b>" What do you do when your child does this? Mine has been doing it increasingly often and nothing you can ... [snip!] ... you can do calms him so I have just been letting him throw his fits. Is there something else you can do about this or no?"</blockquote>



I just let them throw their fits. When they are done I ask if they are finished embarrassing themselves. Well not my son just my daughter because she's 5 1/2yo.

I let my 4 and 5 year old have the fits, if it's close to bedtime though they're put to bed.

Depending on the age. When my girls were younger I would copy them even if in public. lol They would get embarassed and stop right away. I di it from ages like 3 to 6. My middle is 4 and rarely has a fit, but when she does I ignore her completely till she stops and talks to me nicely and says she is sorry for acting crazy.

I tell my two year old to use her words.
If she keeps acting up she is either sent to sit on her bed in time out, or sent to bed to go to sleep because she's likely over tired.
She knows exactly what "Wanna go on your bed?" means. Usually stops her in her tracks.

Quoting ^-^ Rawr + 2:" How old? And no, nothing you can really do but let them do it."

18 months old

He doesn't really knows words yet. He has some basics down but like everything he has down are peoples names and bad dog and kitty and stuff like that. It is frustrating because he can't tell me what is wrong and idk what is wrong so it just gets to that point that I let him throw his fit.

Firstly i acknowledge there is always a reason. I try to understand the need behind it, i empathize with the emotions and explain the situation and encourage a solution.

Tantrums are an expression of overwhelming emotion, ignoring or punishing (including shaming, there is nothing embarrassing about a young child having their brain flooded with stress hormones) does not teach healthy emotional regulation so i avoid that at all costs. The neural areas for logic can't engage during a full tantrum so if that were to happen i'd let him know i was there when he needed me and just ride it out. From a young age i've named emotions and spelled out things so he's fairly self aware with how he feels, what he wants and how to get it. I've spent some time teaching him more appropriate ways of meeting his needs so for his age he has a reasonable amount of tools to do so rather than tantruming. If he ever has a tantrum now it's my responsibility as it's down to being over tired, hungry and over stimulated and me not noticing. In which case i apologize for not noticing and help him.

Quoting Mama*AtoZ:" Firstly i acknowledge there is always a reason. I try to understand the need behind it, i empathize with ... [snip!] ... to being over tired, hungry and over stimulated and me not noticing. In which case i apologize for not noticing and help him."

I seriously do everything I can think of when he throws a tantrum. Like sometimes he is tired and I just hold him and try to get him to take a nap and a lot of the time he just doesn't do it (though I have found the best way to put him out is sitting him at his high chair and giving him a snack. He usually goes out if I do that.) Then there are times where he is teething but I know when it is that because he is trying to shove something in his mouth so I give him tylenol and teething tablets for that but the rest of the time it is just a fit and no matter what I do it doesn't stop.

Quoting Let the rain fall:" I seriously do everything I can think of when he throws a tantrum. Like sometimes he is tired and I just ... [snip!] ... him tylenol and teething tablets for that but the rest of the time it is just a fit and no matter what I do it doesn't stop."

It's normal for hungry children to not even realize they are hungry but to have a fit about it because their blood sugar is a little lower, I act the same way when I've been to busy to realize that I need to eat and then I have a big fit for no apparent (or stupid) reason.

Quoting Let the rain fall:" I seriously do everything I can think of when he throws a tantrum. Like sometimes he is tired and I just ... [snip!] ... him tylenol and teething tablets for that but the rest of the time it is just a fit and no matter what I do it doesn't stop."

I find it helps to think about it afterwards and figure out why it happened. You could even make a note of when he had tantrums and it'll help you see a pattern and what the causes are. Then you can work with him on how to get rid of them. Try to see the emotions behind them - anger, jealousy, boredom, overstimulation, frustration, disappointment, loss of control etc. If you can tell him you can see what emotion he's feeling and why it will make him feel understood and he'll be more receptive to learning what to do next. It helps engage them before they loose control. By naming his feelings and explaining it to him it'll help him to become self aware, so when he feels those things again it won't be so scary. He'll know what it is, and you can teach him what to do to fix it. After a while he'll just be able to fix (some) things himself rather than freaking out and tantruming.

I have become less tolerant to tantrums as DS has gotten older and because i'm so stressed (fleeing domestic abuse), but they are usually my responsibility, i've found the older he is i'm that bit less aware of what he needs because he's busy playing himself so i don't notice. I talk about things when he's calm too and it serves as a reminder for how he should behave. You can talk about your own difficult feelings when you have them and say what you're going to do about it, it helps them to see it's ok (e.g. "Ugh this has broken, i'm so frustrated because now it won't work, i feel sad and angry. I'm going to go and get my tool box to try and fix it" .. as with a toddler if something is broken they might just freak out and throw it or whatever). All these little interactions help them understand the world and how to stay calm and fix problems without getting so emotional. It's easier for them to process things when they're calm and learning is more effective through supportive/positive interactions too.

Quoting A, E & W's mommy:" It's normal for hungry children to not even realize they are hungry but to have a fit about it because ... [snip!] ... the same way when I've been to busy to realize that I need to eat and then I have a big fit for no apparent (or stupid) reason."

I feel like smurf if i suddenly get hungry, i get so impatient and feel shaky, dizzy and weak and panicky feeling. I always imagine my son might feel the something like that when we're out somewhere and we've been rushing and not stopped for a snack, it helps me to be compassionate towards his emotional behaviour.

At home i leave a dip tray out with different snacks and he helps himself whenever he needs it. We have a mix of 6 small meals and snacks a day. He's shot up from 25th to 90th, he was on a near constant growth spurt from around when he turned 2 so it's ideal having lots of regular small nutritious meals/big snacks. It means he doesn't often get those peaks and dips that can result in tantrums. Now he's old enough to help himself to the fridge too it's awesome :p