Temper Tantrums at Age One

WOW! Sounds like that little one has been through the ringer these past few months not to mention you and your hubby. Have you ever considered consulting a wellness based chiropractor? Chiropractic adjustments can do wonders for a little one's overall health, including sleeping issues and temperment by getting all their little nerve endings communicating correctly with their brains through their spinal cords. It will also help keep her healthier and build her immune system. If you are in the Charleston, SC area I recommend Atlantic Coast Family Chiropractic on Trolley Rd in Summerville. Heather Wyant has cared for my family, including two infants, for the past few years. You can check them out online also at her webiste. Just google her name or the name of the practice.

My granddaughter also had that behavior, when she was one. She would scream, and hold her breath. My daughter would have to take her outside to get her calmed down. This went on until she was three years old. The behavior stopped when she became three.
P. S

It's common this is the start of that age where she want her way over anything. My almost 12 month old has started this with diaper changes I think more frm curiosity and just interested in everything but laying still for 3 minutes, however now is a good time to start thinking about what you will use as a discipline technique. Right now a firm nono as my baby tried to roll over and get away during a diaper change does the trick she normally starts to cry but she needs to know that laying still at this point is a necesity not an option. I'm not sure about the steroid thing but it seems logical to me it messes with hormones... Apart from that your baby is growing up and she is capable of testing you to see what she can get away with she may be very strong willed, try Dobsons the strong willed child I also love the book Shephearding the childs Heart. Just keep strong you can get thru this if she throws tantrums just get her in the car kicking and screaming, right now you are stronger then her and can do that if you wait and let her get away with it all now it will only get harder and harder the older she gets. On top of it all when make sure you keep letting her know how much you love her.

I have a question, how do you know it's behavioral? I'm with Julie, if my child were doing that at that young of an age I would look at it as some kind of sign of discomfort. My son was diagnosed with Reflux and eventually MSPI (Milk & Soy Protein Intolerance). He was the sweetest baby and then all of a sudden, usually somewhere around meal time, he would arch his back and scream with the only comfort coming from being held or being in a swing. I just knew that something had to be wrong despite of all of the people that told me it was just colic. Zantac cleared up the arching back and screaming symptoms, he never was one to spit up like most reflux babies do, but a few weeks later I spotted blood in his diaper. That is when he was diagnosed with the MSPI. There can be blood in your daughter's stool even if you can't see it. I would have your pediatrician's lab test her stool for blood. I am breastfeeding and basically had to go on the diet Julie recommended myself. I can't even eat beef as he seems to have a reaction to it. Continued exposure to an irritant can eventually lead to allergies. Even if you are pretty sure it is behavioral have her checked just incase. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion. Hope this helps.

Hi K.,
My first instinct is to say she is having major digestive issues. Children (historically) do not tantrum for the fun of it. Twos are known for tantrum because they have reached the stage of realizing they have some control. The tantrum stops as soon as they get what they want or they realize they won't (usually very short tantrum - 10 minutes at most). Your one year daughter is not quite there developmentally, which leaves me with the fact she is in pain.

Arching of the back is often the first symptom of gut dysbiosis. You can try initially by taking away all cow protein products (milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt). Substitute with rice or almond milk products. Use rice milk with cod liver oil added for fat instead of milk. Feed her veggies, fruit, and meat (try not to do any goldfish, cheerio type snack, give healthy snacks, fresh cooked meals. give rice for snack if you have to - get rid of the packaged products). Do that for two weeks. After two weeks, add a broad spectrum proibotic (open capsule and empty into rice milk). If after two weeks of diet and two weeks of proibotic, if you see improvement, you will know she has digestive problems.

You also need to narrow what happened just before she began the long line of sickness. Did she go on several antibiotics, was she vaccinated. Both have severe gut imflamation issues, especially if she recieved the flu shot with thimerisol.

If you are interested, I can give you more info. I hope she improves soon,
J.

Hi K.,

Is she teething? Our son started arching his back, flinging his head like whiplash, and screaming at night...we were so worried and come to find out the doctor told us he was teething! Odd isn't it. Of course if this lasts longer then at night I'd be concerned.

I 2nd a wellness chiropractor for any child, they can help more than you know.

best of luck

In the books I have read concerning toddlers, What to Expect the Toddler Years, and the Happiest Toddler on the Block, both mentioned that what you are experiencing is normal. Yes, tantrums do start before the age of two. In the "Happiest...Block" book the author (pediatrition) said that in his experience the 18th-24th month period is much harder than the age of two. I also have read that fact in a parenting magazine. Our pediatrition asked us at our daughter's 15th and 18th month check-up if we started to see her be "mean". He told us to expect that. I hope this helps.

Has your daughter been given breathing treatments with steroids to treat her respiratory problems since December? My 5 year old daughter becomes very emotional and combative a few days after she uses her inhaler for cold/asthma related issues. My husband and I both notice the dramatic change in behavior after she uses her inhaler a few times. Steroids do/can have that effect on both children and adults.

One other poster here said steroids cause behavioral changes in children and adults, and that is true. A little known fact, though, is that simple antihistamines can do the same thing, steroid or not. If she is not on antihistamines or steroids of any kind, it probably is a phase of her age and best way to handle it when you are trying to get out the door and this starts, is to continue the routine without saying anything to her, ignoring this as much as you can possibly ignore it, somehow get her dressed and into the clean diaper, put her in the carseat and go -- screams and all. Eventually she will realize that her screaming and tantrums are not changing anything about the routine and she will give it up.