Screaming 2 Year Old

When my oldest was little he would throw a fit so bad it was embarassing so I got to where I video taped him and then made him watch it for some reason after a couple of times of watching he quit.

Sorry, ignoring it won't help (as you may have seen). At the second it starts try firmly getting in their face and say very firmly to SSHH! You nearly have to surprise them at how quickly you can move to get in their face. Whisper to them (kind-of loud whisper) that you will NOT listen to him if he screams. He MUST talk. Everytime ours would start screaming, I would do this and if I was acrosss the room, I would say "ZIP" really sharply and hold up my hand in the STOP motion and say TALK .. no screaming. Honestly, this stopped ours within two weeks. Good luck!

I had a Day Care for 25 years and there are SOME who test the waters!!!!
Start out at home---when he starts screaming----quickly put him sitting in the Bath Room UNTIL he stops. TELL him "when you stop screaming---- You can get out--BUT NOT UNTIL". He will probably be VERY MAD AT FIRST BUT---I promise you---it will get lesser and lesser!!! You're Giving HIM the Choice when to stop. He will probably kick and scream---BUT---there again----leave him UNTIL HE STOPS.... It does take a while (sometimes 30-45 mintues at first) BUT----after that---no matter where you are HE WILL STOP. Also---Leave the door open----BUT--tell him IF the screaming is TOO LOUD---you'll have to close it. It has ALWAYS worked for me at Day Day.....
The hardest part is to LISTEN for the lengthy time he WILL scream at first. It's ALL ABOUT---WHO'S IN CONTROL.....!!!!
Thanks
GOOD LUCK
C.
LOUISIANA

I don't know from experience because my kid is only 4 months old, but what I've heard from friends is to start talking where he can see your face, speak in a very quiet voice just like you are calmly talking normally, don't exaggerate your face like you are trying to hard, and he will get frustrated that he can't hear you and he'll quiet down, because he has to be quiet in order to hear you. Then make it a game, like let's see who can talk the quietest. And hey, if that doesn't work, I think you should try the water-in-the-face thing that soooooo many have already responded with! I had never heard of such a thing and was quite surprised, but since several posters have said it, it must work! I'll have to remember that for myself! Good luck!

HI S.! One of my nephews was a screamer and fit thrower so my sister and brother-in-law kept a bottle of ice water handy at all times. When they saw one of these episodes coming on he got a face full of ice water. The shock was usually enough to make him stop. At restaurants his mother would flick him with whatever cold beverage was at hand. (This also works for cats climbing curtains or screens...)

My own two year old son not only screams but calls everyone "stew-pet" so he finds himself in his crib very often. A little isolation is all it takes for him.

K.

I also have a 2 year old screamer that has been acting out in the store. I have tried distracting with books, toys, etc. She just wants to run loose. The only thing that has worked is going at lunchtime and buying a Happy Meal for her to eat in the cart while I shop. Of course this doesn't last forever--but it allows me about 30 minutes worth of grocery shopping. Then once we get home she is ready to go down for a nap. As the busy mother of 4 kids 8, 6, 4 and 2 I just do whatever works at this point!!

Well, I remember seeing that doctor on TV that says do exactly what they do. If they scream, scream back. I did that when my son picked up screaming from one of the neighbors children and he stopped. I had no more problems. I had to wait till we were at home the next time he did it and he never did it again.

Now I am sure tha will not work with every child but it did work for me. I also did it once when he pitched a fit at home for a treat and I got down on his level and pitched my own fit. It stopped.

The Doc. says to get on their level and do whatever it is they are doing to getthem to stop. You have to be dramatic just like them. Try it, it may just work for you.

I hope all of the advice that you have received thus far is helpful. My daughter was a screamer when she was very young and the reason was that she is deaf. The screaming stopped once she was diagnosed and she got her first pair of hearing aides, then she could hear herself (at least somewhat). Please have his hearing checked. This is a very tricky thing, when a person/child is hard of hearing or considered deaf, sometimes it is not across the board (meaning all sounds). There are 8 frequencies (different tones) that they test, my daughter could not hear 4 of those and could only hear the other 4 at very very load volumes. She had fooled us for many months because she could hear us clap our hands, however, she couldn't hear her name so we thought she was just ignoring us (which wasn't the case).

Please rule this out before giving any punishment for the behaviour.

Good luck! While I pray that your son's hearing is fine, if it's not and you need someone to talk to, please feel free to contact me through mamasource. My daughter is now 16 and is not only one of the highest functioning deaf students at her school, she is one of the highest functioning academic students at her school period.

what I have done with not only my own children but my grandchildren was to use a spray bottle and when they start the screaming, (start this at home to teach) I spray the water in thier face. I have also gone so far when they are screaming as to toss them in the shower and flip on the cold water. It stops them from screaming because of the shock of it all. This works well and you are not abusing the child at all, in fact I had as a cop about this once and they said there is nothing wrong with it.
It may take a few times being squirtted in the face to get the hint, but by doing squirting them, you are forcing them to stop the negative behaviour and learn to take control of thier actions. Two years old is not to young.
I have used this method for many years when needed and it works well.

I used to have a friend a long time ago with this problem. Her pediatrician told her to keep a small spray bottle with cold water and when she began to scream to spray her in the face and the surprise would shock her and make her stop. (Aversion therapy) Well right after she finished telling me the remedy from her doctor, the child began screaming. As she hadn't had the time to get a squirt bottle yet, she jumped up ran into the kitchen and got a cup filled it halfway and ran back to throw it in the childs face. Meanwhile, the child had already stopped screaming and was watching Mom now wondering what she was doing. When Mom got back she threw the cup of water into the childs face, the child gasped in shock eyes wide while Mom watched expectantly to see what would happen. Suddenly the little girl burst out laughing followed by the Mom and then me. We laughed for a while, it was so funny! Too my knowledge, my friend never had any more problems with the screaming. I don't know if this story will help you any, but maybe it will at least make you feel better!
Sincerely,
Tori

The technique that I have always used is to whisper to them when they start screaming and only give them attention when they reply in a whisper(or at least a quiter voice until you get to this point). Most kids don't understand what you mean at that age, so I would just whisper and ask them if they could talk to me with a voice like I was using. Hope this helps.
R.

My daughter who is now 7 did this only a couple of times in public. The first time were at a wedding and she decided to lay down in the middle of the hallway we were going down for the reception (she was 3). I picked her up and we left. She did not get to see the bride (her sitter) or have any cake and punch. One other time was in Walmart (she was around 3)and I took her out of the cart, left it in the aisle and walked out of the store. She was so shocked that the fit stopped and I have not had another problem since.
G.

Do your two year old talk? I think he's having a hard time communicating. The screams can represent his frustrations. Make sure you ask the doctor to test his hearing.