Temper tantrums. What are they and how to help parents to overcome them

Temper tantrums are opposition or obstinacy behaviors that are normal in the developing child, between 18 months and 4 years old. A temper tantrum shows with anger, screams, crying or insults; it?s possible that the child tries to damage anything, even himself. Temper tantrums have their origin in the conflict between child?s independent wishes and caretakers limits. In the other hand, it?s very important language limits and the strong egocentric feeling in 2-3 years old children are also present. When a child starts a temper tantrum, the most important thing to do is not to give him what he or she expects just because he´s angry. It?s necessary to keep calm and to be ignorant of the child. This is called extinction, what means withdrawal of reinforcements following target behavior. The time out technique is an extinction variant. In order that extinction works, it´s necessary to reinforce appropriate behaviors; in this way, the child learns the right way to ask for what he wants. There are several kinds of reinforcements that are discussed in the article.