I find the less fuss I make of him when he's being precious, the quicker he gets over himself. I find distraction to be a good method to avert a meltdown too.
I don't make a fuss at all - if it's something I can walk away from (something happening in the kitchen, laundry, bathroom, etc) I do. If it's somewhere I'm already there (couch, computer, etc), I ignore it. Byut ignoring it means she'll just go and go repeating the same thing over and over. And I've let her go for a good 15 minutes before.

It really is hard to explain it in writing (as I diclaimed before starting) as it's not really a "tantrum" in the sense she's not getting her way so she throws a wobbly. It's more than she's frustrated I guess.

And it's not just with juice, toys etc. For example not long after writing this post I went and sat on the couchand sat on the far left. She cracked it as she wanted to sit there so I move to the middle. She then starts whineing that she wants me to sit back on the left. I tell her that I'll stay in the middle and I get five minutes of her patting the left with "mum sit.... mum sit.... mum sit".

If I ignore her, she won't stop - I'm not kidding, she just keeps going like the energizer bunny of repeating the same word. If I tell her I'm staying put, she throws a fit. If I move, she throws a fit.

Being 22 weeks pregnant doesn't help with my lessened patience (tired and 22 weeks of headaches does not help) and inability to constantly move around.

Another example was a couple of weeks ago we went to a fair type thing. Fun and Sun Festival I think it was. They had a petting zoo thing so we lined up for 15 minutes to get her in - she LOVES animals and there were bunnies there. After waiting we are at the front and she starts screaming "no no no" she didn't want to go in. Really bizarre for her as she's usually all over animals.

So we go line up for this tea cup ride she asks to go on - 20 minutes in a line with no shade. The entire time in line she is going on and on about the tea cups, which colour she wants to go in etc. Get to the front and bam "no no no no". She actually ended up crying a little when I tried to just go on with her...

By then I cracked it and said that's it, we're going back to the car and of course five feet away and she's asking for the tea cup ride again.

I dunno, I'm really not explaining it right. I've only had one friend witness it (outside of DH and myself of course) and even she was surprised at it. She hadn't seen it before and she has three kids.

She does ask for help, and she knows to say please. Only when she asks for "help please" and I bend over, she says no. I sit up and again with the "help please". It's not a lack of manners.