Tantrums
10 articles
What Intensifies Tantrums in Young Children
Not all tantrums are equal. Some dissolve in minutes; others escalate to an intensity and duration that feel unmanageable. Understanding what reliably...
Toddler Tantrums: What Happens Psychologically
Parents who have tried to reason with a mid-tantrum toddler know, through frustrating experience, that it doesn't work. The developmental neuroscience...
Why Tantrums Occur More Often in the Evening
Parents who notice that their child is most difficult in the 4–7pm window are observing a real pattern. The "witching hour" of early childhood has bio...
Sleep and a Child's Psycho-Emotional State
A normally easygoing 4-year-old dissolves into a 25-minute meltdown because the apple was cut the wrong way. A 2-year-old who happily played alone for...
How to Respond to Tantrums Without Punishment
The pull to punish a screaming toddler is real — to send them to their room, to threaten lost screen time, to raise your voice over theirs. It feels l...
Why Ignoring a Child's Emotions Makes Behavior Worse
The advice "don't reward the tantrum with attention" is half right and half disastrous. Yes, you don't give in to the demand. But ignoring the underly...
Why Fatigue Drives Tantrums Up
You'll often hear parents say their child becomes a different person when tired. They aren't being dramatic. The same brain at 7 p.m. after a missed n...
Emotional Development at 18 to 24 Months
The "terrible twos" started early at your house, and you're wondering if something went wrong. Probably not. Most parents date the most challenging st...
What Is Happening in a Toddler's Brain During a Tantrum
A toddler mid-meltdown — screaming, kicking, bright red, inconsolable about the wrong colour cup — is in a state of genuine neurological crisis. That'...
Toddler Anger: Why It's Normal and What Actually Helps
A toddler in full anger is an extraordinary sight: the whole body involved, complete loss of composure, sometimes genuinely terrifying in its intensit...