Tantrums

[DesertBerean]

Today I have nursery duty. For the first, oh, twenty minutes I would say, we had only one child and that was enough for us two sitters since the child proceeded to have a giant-sized tantrum. We basically let him have his fit, just making sure he didn't hurt himself, then tried different distraction and soothing techniques. We FINALLY found his pacifier but it still took a while for the child to settle down.

I know 2-y/o's have those tantrums but I hadn't seen such a big one. But I don't have kids so I guess my experience is limited :hehe: We did let the parent know about his, uh, bad mood, and we talked how we each dealt with tantrums.

So I'm curious about how others here have handled this rite of passage with their kids?

[Little Shepherd]

I used to babysit this little girl across the street. I'd walk over, and then her mother would leave for work. As soon as she realized her mother was leaving, she'd throw a fit. Screaming and crying -- I still don't understand how kids can produce so many tears when they're not really sad or upset.

Anyway, the first time was horrible. I kept trying to soothe her and stuff, but she wouldn't calm down. Anyway, I found the trick to the whole thing was to just walk into another room and ignore her. Sure enough, after sitting in a chair watching TV for a few minutes, I heard the crying stop. She then walked over to me, pulled herself up into the chair, and started watching TV, too. Calm as can be.

After that, I knew to just start doing whatever I wanted and ignore her. Attention-seeking behavior wants attention, so it's best to deny it. It worked for naptime, too. Just drop her in the crib, walk off, and within 10 minutes she'd be conked out. I'm going to make such a great dad one day. :teeth:

[DesertBerean]

Yes; most of the tantrums are for attention. Some are because the child didn't get his/her way. Whee, what fun. The key is being in control. Bit tricky for a couple of babysitters in church but we manage :hehe:.

[DesertBerean]

Somebody reminded me of another technique: imitating the child's behavior back at him/her. I've heard this is very effective...gonna have to remember to try that.

[Sparko]

you should lay down next to him and throw a fit too. I did that once with my little brother when he was 3 or so (I am 14 years older than him) and he suddenly stopped and just stood there watching me wondering "what the heck" - then I jumped up and started tickling him.

[Storico]

*pictures Capt. Jack Sparko bawl and pound his fists over the pirate ship deck as the other pirates look mildly amused*

On topic...

I babysat for years. That was my sole job as a teenager, really, and I saw my share of screaming tantrums. The best thing, by far, is to either walk away, or throw a more spectacular fit than the child. When they see they've been outdone, they don't often bother again. I even had one little boy say to me "there, there, it's okay, it's not so bad here, my mommy will be home soon".... and he didn't understand when I sat up laughing. :hehe:

[Crow]

We didn't have many tantrums in my family as a kid. My brother tried holding my breath though. My father looked at his watch and began to time him, after announcing that the record was 10 minutes. My brother never got anywhere near the record. He didn't try it again either.

With most kids, my father later told me, failure to elicit the desired response is enough to discourage them from repeating the behavior.

[eudyptes]

tranquilizer darts can be useful too......


Having done nursery duty a few times, the ignore method always seemed to work best. Tried the throw your own fit on the floor...visitor walked in to drop off child; for some reason they never came back....so I stopped trying that one.

Wish I had the link to a vid I saw a few years ago, a toddler throwing himself on the floor screaming. The parents, with camera, walked to another room - the kid figured that out, stopped the tantrum walked to the room they were in....and threw himself on the floor and started up again. It went on for a few minutes with them changing rooms several times.

[The Curtmudgeon]

My brother tried holding my breath though.

When I tried that with my sister, Mom made me let her go.

The (but I had other ways of dealing with my sister, so it was okay) Curtmudgeon

[DesertBerean]

tranquilizer darts can be useful too...... Amen!!!!



Having done nursery duty a few times, the ignore method always seemed to work best. Tried the throw your own fit on the floor...visitor walked in to drop off child; for some reason they never came back....so I stopped trying that one. :blush: Ouch.


Wish I had the link to a vid I saw a few years ago, a toddler throwing himself on the floor screaming. The parents, with camera, walked to another room - the kid figured that out, stopped the tantrum walked to the room they were in....and threw himself on the floor and started up again. It went on for a few minutes with them changing rooms several times. I was thinking of that exact same video!!!! I loved it!

[DesertBerean]

It was the biggest tantrum I had seen. I now wear a "Tantrum Survival" badge with honors.

[DesertBerean]

Never heard of a kid holding somebody else's breath. :huh: Interesting.

[Storico]

Never heard of a kid holding somebody else's breath. :huh: Interesting.

You cup your one hand over their mouth, and pinch their nose shut with the other hand.

I've observed my little cousins doing this, back when the oldest two were very young.... and it always ended with the girl biting the boy, and me laughing at the boy because he deserved it. You take away your sister's air, you get bit, and you better hope she doesn't have rabies. :wink:

[The Curtmudgeon]

You cup your one hand over their mouth, and pinch their nose shut with the other hand.

I've observed my little cousins doing this, back when the oldest two were very young.... and it always ended with the girl biting the boy, and me laughing at the boy because he deserved it. You take away your sister's air, you get bit, and you better hope she doesn't have rabies. :wink:

I always swore my sister did have rabies, until Mom explained to me one time about the shots they give you if they think you've been bitten by a rabid animal. Then I had to come up with something else.

The (I think it was around that time that I convinced her she had been adopted) Curtmudgeon