Abstract:
Temper tantrum is a behavioural disorder that affects children between ages 2 to 5. Tantrum is an expression of two overlapping emotional and behavioural processes. Its chief components are anger and distress.
Keywords:
Temper tantrum, aetiology, prevention of temper tantrum, homoeopathy management
Introduction
Temper tantrums or “acting-out” behaviours are natural during early childhood. It is normal for children to want to be independent as they learn they are separate people from their parents.
This desire for control often shows up as saying “no” often and having tantrums. Tantrums are worsened by the fact that the child may not have the vocabulary to express their feelings.
Aetiology:
Tantrums usually begin in children 12 to 18 months old. They get worse between age 2 to 3, then decrease until age 4. After age 4, they rarely occur. Being tired, hungry, or sick, can make tantrums worse or more frequent.
Temper tantrums occur because toddlers cannot regulate their anger that arises when they are prevented from exercising autonomy.
They are more common in a determined child with abundant energy, they can also occur
when a child is hungry or fatigued, bored or ill. Children modify emotional expressions to serve personal needs and exaggerate true feelings of anger and distress to get attention.
Parental responses and family environment play a role in helping the child develop adequate self- regulatory capacities. Various parenting practices that accentuate and perpetuate tantrums include inconsistency, excessive strictness, use of corporal punishment,
unreasonable expectations, overprotection and overindulgence. Mother being the exclusive caregiver, maternal depression and irritability, low education and marital stress are some psychosocial factors that have been identified to be associated with tantrums.
Young children find it difficult to regulate their emotions. Self-regulation is the ability to modulate attention, affect and behaviour to suit a given context. Effortful control is one of the important dimensions of temperament and emotional self-regulation requires effortful control of emotions. It improves gradually during development as a result of the maturation of prefrontal cortex and assistance of caregivers during stressful situations. Executive functions such as attention focusing, attention shifting, inhibiting negative emotions and behaviours and planning help in exercising self-regulation.
Components of a Tantrum
Tantrum is an expression of two overlapping emotional and behavioural processes. Its chief components are anger and distress. Anger rises quickly and peaks at or near the beginning of the tantrum. Whining, crying and comfort- seeking that are the sub-components of distress slowly increase in probability across the tantrum. Coping style is another component of a tantrum. Eg: a child may “drop down” or “run away”. It reflects the tendency to submit to
authority or escape from the situation.
Stages of a Tantrum
Research has shown that a typical tantrum progresses and resolves over three stages viz. the screaming and yelling, physical actions and crying and whining. Temper tantrum range from whining and crying to screaming, kicking, hitting, and breath holding. They’re equally common in boys and girls and usually happen between the ages of 1 to 3.
Some kids may have tantrums often, and others have them rarely. Tantrums are a normal part of child development. They’re how young children show that they’re upset or frustrated.
Tantrums may happen when kids are tired, hungry, or uncomfortable. They can have a meltdown because they can’t get something (like a toy or a parent) to do what they want. Learning to deal with frustration is a skill that children gain over time.
Tantrums are common during the second year of life, when language skills are starting to develop. Because toddlers can’t yet say what they want, feel, or need, a frustrating experience may cause a tantrum. As language skills improve, tantrums tend to decrease.
Toddlers want independence and control over their environment — more than they can actually handle. This can lead to power struggles as a child thinks “I can do it myself” or “I want it, give it to me.” When kids discover that they can’t do it and can’t have everything they want, they may have a tantrum.
Prevention of tantrum:
How Can We Avoid Tantrums?
Try to prevent tantrums from happening in the first place, whenever possible. Here are some ideas that may help:
- Give plenty of positive attention: Get in the habit of catching child being good. Reward little one with praise and attention for positive behavior.
- Try to give toddlers some control over little things: Offer minor choices such as “Do you want orange juice or apple juice?” or “Do you want to brush your teeth before or after taking a bath?” This way, you aren’t asking “Do you want to brush your teeth now?” — which inevitably will be answered “no.”
- Keep off-limits objects out of sight and out of reach: This makes struggles less likely. Obviously, this isn’t always possible, especially outside of the home where the environment can’t be controlled.
- Distract child: Take advantage of little one’s short attention span by offering something else in place of what they can’t have. Start a new activity to replace the frustrating or forbidden one. Or simply change the environment. Take toddler outside or inside or move to a different room.
- Help kids learn new skills and succeed: Help kids learn to do things. Praise them to help them feel proud of what they can do. Also, start with something simple before moving on to more challenging tasks.
- Consider the request carefully when child wants something: Is it outrageous? Maybe it isn’t.
- Know child’s limits: If you know toddler is tired, it’s not the best time to go grocery shopping or try to squeeze in one more errand.
How to handle tantrums?
Tantrums should be handled differently depending on why the child is upset. Sometimes, you may need to provide comfort. If a child is tired or hungry, it’s time for a nap or a snack. Other times, its best to ignore an outburst or distract a child with a new activity.
If a tantrum is happening to get attention from parents, one of the best ways to reduce this behavior is to ignore it. If a tantrum happens after a child is refused something, stay calm and don’t give a lot of explanations for why the child can’t have what he wants. Move on to another activity with the child.
If a tantrum happens after a child is told to do something she does not want to do, it’s best to ignore the tantrum. But be sure that you follow through on having a child complete the task after she is calm.
Kids who are in danger of hurting themselves or others during a tantrum should be taken to a quiet, safe place to calm down. This also applies to tantrums in public places.
If a safety issue is involved and a toddler repeats the forbidden behaviour after being told to stop, use a time-out or hold the child firmly for several minutes. Be consistent. Don’t give in on safety issues.
Preschoolers and older kids are more likely to use tantrums to get their way if they’ve learned that this behaviour works. For school-age kids, it’s appropriate to send them to their rooms to cool off while paying little attention to the behaviour.
Homoeopathic Management
Homoeopathy has many remedies for such tempers. All one has to do is observe and attentiveness of the physician and careful case taking. Homoeopathy remedies are as follows:
Chamomilla:
Chamomilla is one of the remedies well known for a tantrum child. Disposition to weep and to be angry with great sensitiveness to offense. Crying and howling, quarrelsome and mischievous child of choleric humour. Sensitiveness of mind and great irritability these two run so closely that they are inseparable. Inability to control their temper and the temper is aroused to white heat. Never satisfied, restless, changes the place often, wants to be carried all the time, tosses in bed. It is a highly emotional, temperamental and oversensitive remedy. The child will cry out or walk the floor. Ugly in behaviour, bad tempered, quarrelsome, vexed at trifles, abrupt, hasty, hurried and aversion to being spoken to or talking or touched or being looked at. Can’t bear any one near-by. The child wants to be carried and petted. Piteous moaning because the child cannot have what it wants. Exceedingly cross and irritable, can hardly answer civilly, snappish, short-spoken, whining and restless. The child will be quiet only when carried, which seems to relieve it and wants to be carried all the time. Wants different things and repels it when given. Remedy has a turmoil in temper. Almost everything is intolerable. Destructive child, breaks things in anger, clenches fists, stiffens the body and arches backward.
Cina Maritima:
Adopted to children with dark hair, very cross, irritable, ill-humoured, want to be carried but carrying gives no relief, does not want to be touched and cannot bear anyone nearby. Has an aversion to being cared for. Desires many things but rejects everything offered. Picks the nose all the time and has canine hunger. The child is hungry, cross, ugly and wants to be rocked all the time. Cannot be quieted. They are big, fat, rosy and scrofulous children. They stiffen out when looked at or when they are crossed. They are restless and toss about. Abnormal consciousness as if having committed some evil deed. Tendency for worm infestation especially round worms. The child is exceedingly cross, cries and strikes all around. Pitiful weeping when awake, very restless child and crying is unamiable.
Stramonium:
Adopted to plethoric children. Attacks of rage with beating and striking. They desire for company and light. The child is frightened at everything it sees, and wants to get away from it. They want sympathy from all at home. They are disposed to talk continuously, can’t bear to be alone and want hands to be held by others. Awakens with a shrinking look as if frightened at the first object seen. Awakes terrified, knows no one, screams with fright and clings to those nearby. Dread of darkness and has a horror of glistening objects. They are religious and they talk ceaselessly. They does all sorts of crazy things. Talk of others is intolerable. Self-accusation, loss of reason or speech. They desire company, shy, hides themselves or try to escape. They talk in foreign tongue, proud, naughty, merry exaltation, talk lasciviously, speech is violent, they expose themselves, behave stupid and imbecile. Exalted states alternating with settled melancholy. Anger violent, want to kill others or themself. When considering Stramonium violence is key note. Full of excitement, rage, everything is tumultuous, violent. Face looks wild, anxious, fearful, eyes are fixed on a certain objects, face flushed, hot. Violence is like earthquake in Stramonium children. Mind is in an uproar, cursing, tearing the clothes, violent speech and frenzy. Hurried in nature. Inconsolable disposition and susceptibility to irritation by trifles. Child is very active and rapid in movements, obstinate, self-willed. Has desire to strike, bite and kill. They have great desire for light and company.
Tarentula Hispanica:
‘Tarentism’ is the term applied to the dancing mania set up in people bitten by tarentula. Tarentism gives a key indication to the remedy. Child is restless, fidgety, hurried, in constant motion though motion aggravates. Rolls on floor from side to side or strikes vehemently with his feet or rolls the head and rubs it. Anxiety and restlessness are words that prevail through all conditions. Chid has a desire to run about, to dance and jump up & down. Great fantastic dancing, sometimes music ameliorates and sometimes it aggravates the child. Child becomes violently excited from music. Child is extremely restless. Restlessness is so marked that they could not keep quiet in any position. Sudden alteration of mood, foxy, destructive impulses. Sudden violent or sly destructive movements, sudden spitefulness to a paroxysmal of insanity in which child strikes himself and others, tear and destroy things. Frightful restlessness of arms and legs. Very sensitive to music, dances to music. Aversion to company yet desires presence of some one. Child is ungrateful, discontented and guided by whims.
Tuberculinum:
Adopted to light complexioned, blue eyes, blond in preference to brunette, tall, slim, flat, narrow chested, active and precocious mentally, weak physically and of tubercular diathesis. They are irritable, fretful, peevish, taciturn and sulky. Indicated in light complexioned, narrow chested children. The desire to travel, that cosmopolitan condition of the mind belongs strongly to the one who needs Tuberculinum. Children are weak, emaciated with good appetite. Very sensitive mentally and physically. Every trifle irritates, fits of violent temper, wants to fight and throws anything at any one even without a cause. Dissatisfied, always wants a change, wants to travel, does not want to remain in one place long and wants to do something different all the time. They have an aversion to mental work, reckless, have fear of animals, dogs. Whines and complaints with very little ailment. Desire to use foul language, curse and swear. Changing moods. Children awake screaming with restlessness at night. Anxious, hopeless, loquacious. They have low recuperative power, very susceptible to changes in weather. They are disposed to whine and complain, feel dejected, anxious, indifferent, does not want to work, does not like to be disturbed by others but they disturb everyone.
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Author:- Dr Pallavi Patle BHMS MD Ph D( scholar) Guru Mishri Homoeopathic Medical College, Shelgaon, Jalna Maharashtra.
