Tantrums in 18 Month Old

Here is what I do with my daughter (who's 2 and a half) when she starts a tantrum. I ignore her, and carry on with some chore, as does hubby. If there are guests, we tell them we're sorry our daughter is showing bad behavior, and ask them politely to do the same, and to not encourage her.
Usually, she gives up after 2-3 minutes, and goes back to staying calm. Then, we just carry on normally with her, like nothing happened. It is usually frustrating and embarrassing (when it happens outside the house), but not giving in to their demands is the first step, I believe.

He sounds like a very, very NORMAL 18 month old baby!

This is about the time that they realize that they have wants and opinions on things, and that they can control their environments by controling you. Tantrums are pretty easy to fix really. Re-direct when possible, and if that does not work, Ignore them! Say for example, baby really wants something that he can not have. You explain to him nicely "Sorry! This is not for baby" and say no firmly. If he keeps having a tantrum, you walk away and do something else until he is finished. He will quickly learn that throwing a tantrum will not get him what he wants, and thus he will stop having so many tantrums.

Its a really normal stage when you think about it. He does not have enough language skills to talk and negotiate for what he wants yet, so he crys, because as a baby crying has gotten him what he needs. Now that he is older, be careful to not give in to everything he wants or else he will have a hard time learning his boundries. For kids this age, its all about ignoring and redirecting.

My 15 month old watches some TV, mostly when its his older brothers time that he gets to watch a show. Otherwise babies this age really should not be watching that much TV. Its too passive. Babies learn much more through active play.

I am not sure that the other posters realize you are talking about an 18 month old here.... you should not even be thinking about any type of "diagnosis" (ADHD or something else) for several more years.

Isn't it nice to know you have a perfectly normal 18 month old lol?

My son is ADHD and sensory. Try reading the Out of sync child.. great book with lots of insight. And Love and Logic By Foster cline.

Things we have done to get things under controll.
1. school, the district did testing and we get him enrolled.
2. diet changes, No food dyes, no HFCS, Removed gluten ,and no chocolate.
3. we are also doing accupunture ( no needles, magnetic).

Also, try to remain calm, and ignor the crying. Do not give in.. If you are at a store- keep in mind 2 kinds of people.. ones with kids, and those who don;t .. the ones with kids, will fully understand .. the ones who don't well ignore them as they clearly do not know what they would do.

Good Luck

Very normal! You do have to stick with him in the doctor's office. Listen to the ideas the ladies have given you. It will help.

Don't use TV at home to entertain him. The TV will not help him learn to stop having tantrums. When he cries about petty things like not having the TV remote, substitute something else, and then walk away. It's okay to let him cry.

If you try to placate him all the time, he will have more tantrums because he knows it gets your attention. Ignoring the tantrums is best. If he is hurting himself, then put him in a play pen to keep him safe and let him have his cry.

Watch this youtube video (if you can access it in Pakistan).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk-OfmmRaqs

It's very telling that he has the tantrums when he knows that mom sees him. The point is that he is just trying to manipulate everyone and everything around him. And yes, that is normal. Children learn that tantrums don't work when they NEVER get what they want by having them. As they get older, they also learn that they lose privileges when they have tantrums.

Good luck, S.!!

18 months old?
This is normal behaviors. Children this age do not understand their feelings and do not have the words to express what they want or need. And so as the parent you tell them.

Also remember yor child has an attention span of about 1 to 2 minutes at the most.. So use that to your advantage..

"I can tell you are mad because you did not get to play outside while it is raining. Lets play with the blocks instead"

At the doctors office.. "Do you want to play with the cars or look at books?"

"ican tell you are frustrated because you cannot open that door, come over here and help me push this toy over to the wall." I like how you pushed that. Can we try 2 cars at the same time?"

You look like you need a hug. You look like your feelings are hurt. You might want a snack.

You are teaching him to express what he feels and teaching him options..

Itseay too early to think he is ADHD. He cannot communicate yet.

This sounds a lot like my son from what you have described. We might need more information, because it could be part of a perfectly normal childhood, a phase, or it could be sensory seeking. It sounds a lot like sensory seeking and a talk with your pediatrician might be a good idea.

An evaluation from an Occupational Therapist would be able to tell you for sure, but if he is sensory seeking, then he probably could really benefit from OT. The changes in my just turned 2 year old in the last 3 months have been staggering! I highly recommend getting help if he is sensory seeking.

But, like I said, I don't know what a "normal" baby stage is really like because my were far from normal. So, ask his pediatrician. You might be able to just email or call instead of having to go in. I too have a "tv" baby! Thomas the Train and Super Why are his best friends.

Edited to Add: Like I said, I don't know what a normal 18 month old is, but I do know that my son was not normal at any stage of his life, even at 4 weeks. I do know that 18 months is NOT too young to be concerned and diagnosed with anything. My pediatrician had my son in therapies before he was a year, and started speech at 15 months, and sent him for OT and an Autism screening at 18 months. So, if YOU are concerned, then you really should talk to your son's doctor!

Limit tv every day !! Kids should not be viewing hrs and hrs a day ! One of my kids loved tv. It was sooo hard to limit it, but, I did.

If you redirect him and he tantrums...That is normal. It is how a child learns some self-control. Toddlers need to be re-directed alot. If he cries, it's ok. I found that picking up my child and moving her from the thing she couldn't have helped immensely. I would then look at her and say, " No cookies until after dinner. You can have some banana now." She would scream when I picked her up and moved her away from the cookies OR moved the cookies to the top of the frig. She would fall on the floor and tantrum. I walked a few ft away. It took several months for this period to pass !

I video taped a few of her tantrums. She watched the tape when she turned 15. I got to show her how strong willed she was !

Be loving, yet, firm--That's gd parenting ! Make sure he is going outside getting fresh air and keeping busy on a playground, etc...