My four year old daughter has mastered the art of throwing tantrums and getting her way. She won’t eat what we ask her to, plays with her food and only chooses to eat what she likes. Afraid to get into a screaming fest with her, I choose to not order her to finish eating after the second notice. Afterwards she has gotten into the habit of demanding a sweet or chocolate after her meal as a reward of some sort. I say no at first then she uses every trick in the book, beginning with being cute and whiny. Sometimes I cave out of both sympathy and fear. Other times when I stand my ground she screams, kicks, throws things and is completely inconsolable.
Rest assured that this kind of behaviour is normal, as long as you know how to not cave to their whims. You need to understand that all children between 1 and 3 years of age will have a meltdown when they don’t get their way. It’s only a problem when this sort of behaviour goes out of control. You may not be able to avoid tantrums altogether since they are part of your child’s development, however, you can learn to reduce the frequency of occurrence. The best way to do this is to not give in. Stand your ground and she’ll know that no means no. If she gets more out of hand and this occurs in public, go some place else so that you aren’t too stressed out. Continue to do this until she understands that tantrums will not get her anywhere. Soon enough she will begin to stop using this strategy to make you agree to her whims.
