Are Tantrums Normal?

Parents may think a 3-year-old’s frequent tantrums are normal in early childhood. But new research shows daily tantrums only occur in less than 9 percent of preschool children, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, or ethnicity (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2012). Researchers say daily tantrums could be signs of behavioral problems that should be addressed before they escalate. You can avoid some of these behaviors by incorporating Stategic Attention and Selective Ignoring into your lifestyle. More to come about strategies that assist in modifying children’s behavior in a future blog. Stay tuned!

In the National Institute of Mental Health-funded study, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine researchers surveyed nearly 1,500 parents of preschoolers ages 3 to 5 about their children’s behavior over the past month. While 84 percent of parents reported their children occasionally had tantrums, approximately 9 percent reported daily outbursts. So if your child is throwing tantrums daily, maybe it is not as normal as you once thought? Are there other factors that could be affecting your child’s behavioral and mental health? The answer is yes!

If you are concerned about your child’s mental and/or behavioral health, please contact a licensed mental health practitioner today. At AdultSpan Counseling, Anita K. Lovell, MA, LIMHP, specializes in behavioral pediatrics working with children 2-18 years old with various mental and behavioral health needs to including tantrumming and other related behaviors. Please call 402-325-0117 ext 3 to schedule an appointment.