Unfortunately my perfect little princess seems to be gone! I've been left with a child that is super willful and somewhat violent when she doesn't get her way. Which is why the word tantruming has become a staple in the house. We use tantrumming and its cousin tantrummed in the following ways:
You tantrumming? (A question asked of Malia when she's flipping out in the floor)
She started tantrumming at the playground, so we left.
I don't know why she tantrummed!
The majority of the time the tantrum stems from taking away one of her favorite, but forbidden, toys (keys, cords, cell phones). Tantrumming also occurs when:
- she's in periods of refinement (car seat, high chair, stroller) but doesn't want to be
- she's overly tired
- she's frustrated because she can't get a toy to do the mystery thing she wants it to do
- reasons unknown
The tantrum almost always involves the double leg chops from the video. I've been too close to the line of fire and have been kicked in the stomach and the face. Sometimes the tantrum involves tossing herself backward onto the floor, which can never be good. I can usually tell when she is about to do this and prevent it, but not always! Of course when you smack the back of your head off of a hardwood floor the tantrum is usually forgotten and replaced with wild, barely breathing cries of pain!
Our tactic has been to replace the taken item with an acceptable item, which works 50% of the time and has to be done right before you remove the forbidden item. If the tantrum is unavoidable or in full swing, I put her in the Pack N Play so she can have a safe place to thrash around and toss herself. Once the tantrum is finished I either:
- take a calm cute baby out of the Pack N Play, wipe her wet face and find something to do (20%)
- take an upset baby out of the Pack N Play, change her out of her vomit covered clothes, change and wash the sheets, give her hugs and some water (30%)
- cover sleeping baby with muslin blanket and go stare at a wall (50%)
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