2.5 year old behavior...

kel716

Out of the blue, B has decided to throw all out temper tantrums.  He's near inconsolable some moments and other moments he just wants to hug/love while screaming.  This week, he's been more irritable than most....  DH and I are trying to pinpoint the tantrums to see if we can ward them off...  but wonder if it's something else...

- he has all of of his teeth, so that's not it

- he's gone to bed at the usual time this week and slept later  (10:30 Sunday, 9 ish the rest of this week).  No naps, but that's normal.  Time change issues? 

- is it possible it's a growth spurt? 

- or something else? 

JLPT830

Almost exactly at 2.5 DS became a different child.  I have always attributed it to my inability to cope since I felt like crap being preggo with DD.  Then I blamed it on him being jealous, then on the never ending diarrhea.  I think it was a combo of those things and just the age.  It didn't last too long (a few months) and he wasn't bad all the time.  We just tried to be firm and clear on the rules and consequences (time out, toy taken away).  Trying to be patient with him helped too.   Good luck.

JenRose05

He's still having speech issues, no? If so, I would contribute it to that. Ben started throwing major tantrums a little before Brandon's age, I mean they would last an hour and he would be breathless. Now that he's speaking more they are back to normal tantrum time.

ETA: clicked too soon

I think at that age they are just so frustrated to not be able to relay their wants and needs, even if its a simple one. It's hard to watch

Moesten

My gut reaction says language concerns are exacerbating. Many, many children with language concerns also have a good deal of challenging behavior because of frustration. So the language difficulties coupled with typical two-year old behavior might be making for real doozies of tantruming.

I also think the time change doesn't help things.

Good luck and I hope you guys are able to get things on a more even keel soon.  

teacherjess

Sounds like the terrible twos .

Leah is the same way right now. She has about three meltdowns a day, always about the same things: not wanting to get dressed for school and wanting to wear pajamas, not wanting to stay at the dinner table to eat, and not wanting to turn off her 7:00 TV show to sleep because it's still light out. It's like clockwork. We are just trying different tactics, but it is wearing on us.

We've been dealing with it for about three months now. I'm hoping for the light at the end of the tunnel!

linzpinz14

Cecelia is pretty much acting the same as Leah.  We've been dealing with it for about a month and a half.  She pretty much throws a 3-5 minute crying fit/ tantrum anytime there is a transition.  This happens when it is time to clean up toys, turn off the TV, stop playing to eat, change a diaper, stop an art project, leave the house, leave from where ever it is we are in public, etc... 

I think if his tantrums are lasting longer then 5-10 min it's probably because he isn't able to tell you why he is upset.  It seems to me when I am able to calmly validate Cecelia's feelings and then reason with her that the next activity will be just as fun, she calms down much more quickly then when I have no idea why she is freaking out.

It is totally wearing on both DH and I.  I'm glad they don't last long and we are able to get her to stop.  Now if we can just figure out how to keep the tantrums from starting in the first place...

Ttimes3

From what I've been reading, it's totally and completely normal for developmental age. Fun times.