So Corbin's first birthday is coming up in just a couple weeks, and I'm told it's normal at this age, but I can't handle the temper tantrums! For one thing, he's too big and strong for me to contain, so when you add his strong-willed personality and throwing his head back, I just have to put him down now.
So my question, how do you guide his head so it doesn't hit the floor, or at least doesn't hit hard, and still ignore the tantrum so it ends as quickly as possible? Is it feasible?
I hate to do a whole post on temper tantrums since it's not something I really want to remember about my sweet baby boy. But I figure it's also a sign that he is growing up and exerting his independence. It's so strange that he has his own ideas and can actually make choices about where he goes and what he does.
Speaking of choosing where to go, I just added "Walking" to the title since it's also a new development as Corbin approaches turning 1. Corbin now chooses HOW to get somewhere, which is REALLY strange. Although he still chooses crawling most the time (because it's faster), he is getting more and more stable on his feet. He LOVES walking while holding my hands because then he can run. He would do it all day if I was willing. But he's starting to take more steps on his own as well. This morning, I was in my bedroom and Corbin was in the hall, and I suddenly saw him toddle into my room on only two limbs. It was so crazy to see him! I get so proud of him when he tries.
Dustin and I laugh because he walks better when he is holding something in one or both hands. It's as if he trusts the objects to hold him up, like he's holding someone's hand(s). We call it his magic object which helps him walk.
Well, I'm done avoiding my chores. I'd love to hear some thoughts on tantrum control...
Just wait until he's throwing a three year old tantrum and then you'll be wishing you could go back to the one year old tantrums. Let him cry it out for a minute and then hold him and love him to pieces.
ReplyDeleteTwo words: Padded Room. Love you ;)
ReplyDeleteJennie! Oh my goodness, I feel like Corbin and Jett could be twins (if twins were identical in personality, ha). But Jett has been throwing tantrums like that for a few months now as well (he's 14 months now). He arches his back, throws his head back, and loses all control of his body. (honestly makes me feel better I'm not the only new mom dealing with this;) Like you, I have found it difficult to contain him while holding him so I also have to put him down. It looks like you've been receiving quite a lot of good feedback from other moms, so I may be repeating a lot... but when you do put him down when he's throwing a tantrum, make sure he is away from anything that can hurt him or that he can throw himself into, like furniture, shelves, etc, and on carpet or softer flooring if possible. I have also found another key is distraction, distraction, distraction. make him laugh, give him a "treat", go outside (which helps Jett a lot-he LOVEs outside), play peek-a-boo, etc. and if all else fails, ignore him or just laugh it off and be patient while he calms himself down. To be truthful, a lot of this advice I've also been given from others and it kinda depends on the day and situation with Jett and what he needs/wants, so I've been trying different things each time. Some tricks work at one time and not another.
ReplyDeleteBUT, on the positive side (and to maybe give you a little hope for the near future) I have noticed in just the last month or so, Jett has been learning more and more communication skills, so the tantrums have become less frequent and easier to deal with because most of the time he can communicate what he needs/wants before it gets to the full-out tantrum point. His main communication is pointing right now, and we're continuously working on specific words when he points to the objects- "outside", "drink", "bread", "please" etc... (he knows what a lot of words mean, but getting them out of his mouth is taking more time). And hopefully it will get even better when they get older, can understand and communicate even more, and we can reason with them. We may just have to pull through for a couple more years, haha.
Anyway, sorry this is SO long, but hopefully it helps a little:) We can learn through this process together, haha. good luck!
Thanks Jen! That was so helpful! I'm just trying to enjoy the trial and error till he starts to communicate more I guess :-)
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