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Moms of toddlers: can you ease my anxiety, please?
DS will be 9 months old on Friday. He has always been so good natured and happy, and really - just an angel. Lately he has been throwing some tantrums, for lack of better term. Especially while eating - he will make this whiny "eeehhhh" and whine and fuss, and wipe all the finger food off his tray, push my hand out of the way if I try to feed him from a spoon or even give him a bottle or sippy cup, etc.
He does that tantrum-like whine at other times, too. Granted, it's not all the time, and it's not even very often I guess. Most of the time he is so good and happy and adorable. It just really grates on my nerves when he does this because it just sounds so "bratty". I hate feeling like I'm calling my kid a brat, because he's so not, but it is seriously a disturbing cry/whine. I do realize he's teething again, and I'm sure that's where most of this crankiness comes from. I'm just a little horrified that he's not going to grow out of that stage, and I'm going to have "That Kid"...
Please tell me it's normal, and he'll grow out of it... or, if it's not, I guess I need to know that so I can start figuring out how to help him not throw tantrums (9 months seems so young for a tantrum!). (BTW, we are working on signs and have been for several months, to help ease the tantrums but this week they just seem to have gotten worse).
TIA for any perspective you may be able to give me!
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Re: Moms of toddlers: can you ease my anxiety, please?
Keep up with the signs! Once he really learns them and understands them it will give him a greater feeling of control over his environment. Don't put too much food in front of him at once. If even just a little goes on the floor, at 9 months food is just for fun so you can treat it like biting while BFing - If you're going to act like that, mealtime is over for now.
Teething can always be part of it, but he may also be going through a "learning spurt". Trying to make sense of new information and it's frustrating. Imagine someone trying to teach you another laungage and they show you this image
The best perspective I have is the only thing that gets me through the poop on the carpet, milk on the couch, running away and peanut butter hands in her hair Days - THIS TOO SHALL PASS!
52 Choices For Better Health
I think I posted the exact same thing when DD was that age... I was afraid she was turning into a little brat
For us, it really was just a phase... someone loaned me a really nice book called Touchpoints (sorry, don't know the author) and it talks about their emotional development. Some of it was a little too nicey-nicey for me, but it did a good job of explaining why they act like they do.
If I remember, at that age, it talked alot about how there is so much they want to do and in their head know how to do, but physically can't. So basically the whole world is frustrating. Also, it mentioned that everything is new and scary - making them more fussy.clingy, etc.
I was getting to my breaking point and ready to go on a vaca by myself - (DD was fussiest around me - she would be playing happily with DH and the minute I walked in the room she would start whining/crying/screaming, etc) - when DD "snapped" out of it.
I also say ditto the PP - keep on with the signing. It will help! GL!
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