Temper Tantrum At The Doctor's Office

I'm actually still in the middle of the terrible two's.My son has always been a really well behaved child,easy to get along with and distract when necessary.I had my daughter 8 weeks ago,he didn't seem to mind her.He's always hugging and kissing her.It just seems that in the last week or two he wakes up cranky and stays that way continually except to totally fly off the handle,and occasionaly if I can take the time just for him but even then he very easily angers.Time outs work but they say not to punish for a tantrum because it's not something they can control.

Today we went to the doctors office...there is no time out at the doctors office.I put him in a chair in the corner of the examaning room while his sister was getting checked over,I'm sure they could hear him all the way up the street.I was feeling like I was handling it fairly well when my docter says "Somebody's got an attitude" I suddenly developed one myself,knowing she had two children of her own. I would have expected her to understand.Then I thought maybe it's not average,maybe he's out of control.

I managed to get out of there with all of us in one piece by bribing him with a candy kiss.I felt it was wrong to do that,he's going to think he got his way and it's just going to make it worse next time.

When I came home and got him to finally take a nap I looked up the "Terrible Two's" online and found that my son and myself are perfectly normal. I guess I just have to keep trying,keep reasoning & keep taking my own time outs.Eventually it will get better,just in time for my daughter to turn two.

Dr Maud Answers

This is not abnormal. In public situations it is much harder to deal with tantrums. Bribing is one of those ways. The other would be to tell your son at the outset that if he is very good he can have a treat. If he buys into that, then as he starts to misbehave you can remind him that if he isn't good he won't get his treat.

Having "an attitude" in a toddler can be challenging for a parent but in later life, that can often be a very helpful trait. As a parent you just have to find ways of managing the attitude at the time.

If you prefer to listen than read information, then you can hear about great ways to change your child's behavior and avoid the terrible two's with an audio course called "Talking to Toddlers" - click here. The audio course not only gives strategies for dealing with a willful two year old, but it gives strategies for communicating more effectively with all ages.