My two are like chalk and cheese. Seth too has become very agitated over things. There are a few things I do when he used to get like this. Stay calm, but don't give too much attention for it. What I mean is I would calmly talk to him and tell him that when he calmed down he could have a cuddle. Sometimes he would run straight to me for a cuddle and cry into my shoulder and then when he calmed down I would tell him its ok, and good boy for calming down. Other times I would sit close to him and wait for him to calm down and offer a cuddle and then talk about what had happened. A lot of people would criticise that talking was irrelevant at this age, but I strongly disagree, the biggest trigger for tantrums is related to a child feeling frustration, anger, disappointment or sadness and being overwhelmed by these emotions and not understanding how to deal with them. If we communicate with them through these tantrums this is us leading by example. And one day they will understand, it also helps us stay in control of our temper Obviously different strategies work with different ages, now I find if Seth is acting out in a way that isn't appropriate I offer him an alternative to his behaviour, I also ALWAYS reassure him that I understand he is upset, sad, angry etc and then always offer a cuddle. Tantrums whilst annoying I truly believe are good, because it means we have the opportunity to help them with their feelings and help teach them how to deal with those feelings. Often children who are ignored during tantrums learn to bottle them, and those who are placated during tantrums often learn this is how to deal with emotion and go on to be tantruming adults and there are the lucky few with higher emotional understanding who just learn other ways on their own. Try not to worry if you feel what you are doing isn't working, the consistency will be comforting and eventually he will understand what you are trying to do and he will learn that he feels better when he deals with his feelings in a better way iykwim? I remember when Seth started doing it I felt like nothing would work, but I persisted and now he only has the occasional spack attack. I know as he grows there will be new phases of tantrums and its my job to be there for him when that happens. Its hard work but I think if we are to perceive tantrums in a different light it does make them easier to deal with. I hope that makes sense and I haven't dribbled too much