Tantruming 17-month-old
Maybe it's the heat or teething or just a plain bad mood or something, but my 17-month-old has been throwing quite a few tantrums lately, often because she wants something she can't have. Other times, the cause is simply a mystery to us.
During her tantrum, she arches her back and refuses to be held, so we put her down on the carpeted floor, where she keeps arching her back and screaming bloody murder, tears and all. We've noticed that if we're talking to her and telling her it's okay, or that we understand why she's frustrated, she screams ever louder, arches her back even more and ends up being a tearful baby wiggling all over the floor. You'd think we were trying to slay her like a dragon. However, if we don't say anything directly to her (kinda-sorta ignoring her, I suppose), she quietens down. At which point, we'd ask her if she's okay, she'd start freaking out again. This goes back and forth until she's ready to be held and nursed.
The Dr Sears' Discipline Book recommends holding a tantruming child under the age of two. I want to hold her, but with the back-arching, she clearly doesn't want to be held during a tantrum. I don't feel right ignoring her either (a suggestion Dr Sears gives for tantrumming older kids), but talking to her while she's on the floor screaming just seems to make things worse in her world.
How do you guys cope with a tantrumming toddler of this age? Thanks in advance!
During her tantrum, she arches her back and refuses to be held, so we put her down on the carpeted floor, where she keeps arching her back and screaming bloody murder, tears and all. We've noticed that if we're talking to her and telling her it's okay, or that we understand why she's frustrated, she screams ever louder, arches her back even more and ends up being a tearful baby wiggling all over the floor. You'd think we were trying to slay her like a dragon. However, if we don't say anything directly to her (kinda-sorta ignoring her, I suppose), she quietens down. At which point, we'd ask her if she's okay, she'd start freaking out again. This goes back and forth until she's ready to be held and nursed.
The Dr Sears' Discipline Book recommends holding a tantruming child under the age of two. I want to hold her, but with the back-arching, she clearly doesn't want to be held during a tantrum. I don't feel right ignoring her either (a suggestion Dr Sears gives for tantrumming older kids), but talking to her while she's on the floor screaming just seems to make things worse in her world.
How do you guys cope with a tantrumming toddler of this age? Thanks in advance!