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Especially initially..... DD just seems to be starting this. She just cracked it for about 15 mins before asking to go to bed over not being allowed her dummies, so I havent seen a tantrum through yet.
So I ask you:
How long can your child tantrum for (or how long did they for initially)?
Any tips for calming them down without giving in? (I had briefly tried distraction but she was not at all interested)
*deep breath* DDs weren't so bad initially. She seemed to work her way into them. Thankfully the real ones are few and far between! We have had 2 massive massive tantrums in about the last 12- 18 months. The littler ones I could ask her to tell me whats wrong, ask her if she needs a hug, ask if I can soothe her in someway ie rub your back or just wait until its over. The HUGE ones I couldnt do a damn thing about. Everytime I opened my mouth or looked at her it made it worse :o. The 2 big ones we have had lasted about 35 minutes :redface: And yeah, I feel pretty darn great about them :doh:
ETA: DD was about 2.5 at the time of the 2 big tantrums.
Our big ones are generally around 45 minutes and always when he hasn't had a day sleep. Tiredness is cause here.
I just wait them out - leave him space to cry, scream etc but if I say anything it makes it worse. He calms down, we cuddle and then get on with it.
Thanks for the info. The way I see it, once we've worked our way through a couple it will probably get easier. I apparantly was an awesome tantrum thrower as a kid (I think Mum used to give in) until one day my day shut me in my room and told me to come out when I was finished (I'm guessing I was about 3 at this point - it's not something I plan to do to DD so don't worry!). Apparently I never threw another one after that.
fabfiona - I think this one was definitely triggered by tiredness too, making me wonder how much steam she'll have when she's not tired lol! Hopefully she will be a bit easier to distract in that instance.
I don't give in, but quite often the reason for the tantrum changes every 5 minutes or so.