Tantrum

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For other uses, see Tantrum (disambiguation).
"Christina Rossetti in a Tantrum" by her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

A tantrum, temper tantrum, meltdown, fit or hissy fit is an emotional outburst, usually associated with those in emotional distress, that is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence, defiance,[1] angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification, and, in some cases, hitting and other physically violent behavior. Physical control may be lost; the person may be unable to remain still; and even if the "goal" of the person is met, they may not be calmed. Throwing a temper tantrum can lead to a child being placed in timeout, being grounded, or even getting detention or being suspended from school for older school age children.[2][3][4][5][6][7] A tantrum may be expressed in a tirade: a protracted, angry speech.[2][3][8]

In early childhood[]

Tantrums are one of the most common forms of problematic behavior in young children but tend to decrease in frequency and intensity as the child grows older.[9] For a toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, and even as gauges of developing strength of character.[10][11][12]

Child having a tantrum

While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future anti-social behaviour,[13] in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration,[14] and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.[15][16][17] Parental containment where a child cannot contain themself—rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding—may be what is really required.[18]

Selma Fraiberg warned against "too much pressure or forceful methods of control from the outside" in child-rearing: "if we turn every instance of pants changing, treasure hunting, napping, puddle wading and garbage distribution into a governmental crisis we can easily bring on fierce defiance, tantrums, and all the fireworks of revolt in the nursery".[19]

Intellectual and developmental disorders[]

Some people who have developmental disorders such as autism, Asperger syndrome,[20][21] ADHD, and intellectual disability[22] could be more vulnerable to tantrums than others, although anyone experiencing brain damage (temporary or permanent) can suffer from tantrums.[23] Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age.[24][25] However, a meltdown due to sensory overload (which even neurotypical children can experience) is not the same as a temper tantrum.[26]

Aberrations[]

A Welsh Government video explaining the difference between tantrums and meltdowns.

Freud considered that the Wolf Man's development of temper tantrums was connected with his seduction by his sister: he became "discontented, irritable and violent, took offence on every possible occasion, and then flew into a rage and screamed like a savage".[27] Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt[28]—something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.[29]

Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were narcissistic rages,[30] caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core. The blow to the inflated self-image, when a child's wishes are (however justifiably) refused, creates fury because it strikes at the feeling of omnipotence.[31]

Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression, may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.[32][33]

In later life[]

Writer William Makepeace Thackeray claimed that in later life "you may tell a tantrum as far as you can see one, by the distressed and dissatisfied expression of its countenance—'Tantrumical', if we may term it so".[34]

Heinz Kohut contended that "the infant's core is likely to contain a self-centred, grandiose-exhibitionist part", and that "tantrums at being frustrated thus represent narcissistic rages"[30] at the blow to the inflated self-image. With "a child confronted with some refusal ... regardless of its justifications, the refusal automatically provokes fury, since it offends his sense of omnipotence".[31]

The willingness of the celebrity to throw tantrums whenever thwarted to the least degree[35] is a kind of acquired situational narcissism[36] or tantrumical behavior.

If tantrums are shown by older people, they might often be signs of immaturity or a mental disability; and often autistic or ADHD meltdowns are incorrectly labelled tantrums. It can also occur in neurotypical people under extreme stress. [37]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ GOMBERT, A. J. (1825). "The French Drama ... with Notes Critical and Explanatory, by A. G. Volume 2 of The French Drama ... with Notes Critical and Explanatory, by A. G". The French Drama... The British Library. 2: 47.
  2. ^ a b Penelope Leach. "What is a tantrum?". BabyCentre. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  3. ^ a b "Temper Tantrums". KidsHealth. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  4. ^ Karisa Ding (July 26, 2017). "Tantrums". BabyCenter. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  5. ^ Jan Hunt. "When a Child Has a Tantrum". The Natural Child Project. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  6. ^ Mullen, J.K. (1983). "Understanding and managing the temper tantrum". Child Care Quarterly. 12 (1): 59–70. doi:10.1007/BF01258080. S2CID 144110786.
  7. ^ Geelerd, E.R. (1945). "Observations on temper tantrums in children". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 15 (2): 238–246. doi:10.1111/j.1939-0025.1945.tb04937.x.
  8. ^ Daniels, Elizabeth; Mandleco, Barbara; Luthy, Karlen E. (2012). "Assessment, management, and prevention of childhood temper tantrums". Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 24 (10): 569–573. doi:10.1111/j.1745-7599.2012.00755.x. PMID 23006014.
  9. ^ Banham Bridges, Katharine M. (1932). "Emotional Development in Early Infancy". Child Development. 3 (4): 324–341. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1932.tb05842.x. JSTOR 1125359.
  10. ^ Robin Skynner; John Cleese (1993). Families and how to survive them. p. 177.
  11. ^ Isaacs, S. (1940). "Temper tantrums in early childhood in their relation to internal objects". The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 21: 280–293.
  12. ^ Solter, A. (1992). "Understanding Tears and Tantrums". Young Children. 47 (4): 64–68. JSTOR 42725308.
  13. ^ Potegal, Michael; Davidson, Richard J. (June 2003). "Temper Tantrums in Young Children". Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 24 (3): 140–147. doi:10.1097/00004703-200306000-00002. PMID 12806225. S2CID 23682833.
  14. ^ Green, J.A.; Whitney, P.G.; Potegal, M. (2011). "Screaming, yelling, whining, and crying: Categorical and intensity differences in vocal expressions of anger and sadness in children's tantrums". Emotion. 11 (5): 1124–1133. doi:10.1037/a0024173. PMC 3192404. PMID 21707157.
  15. ^ Roy Benaroch (2008). Solving Health and Behavioral Problems from Birth Through Preschool. p. 157.
  16. ^ Kopp, C.B. (1989). "Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view". Developmental Psychology. 25 (3): 343–354. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.25.3.343.
  17. ^ Levine, Linda (1995). "Young Children's Understanding of the Causes of Anger and Sadness". Child Development. 66 (3): 967–709. doi:10.2307/1131944. JSTOR 1131944.
  18. ^ Patrick Casement (1990). Further Learning from the Patient. p. 113–4.
  19. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. p. 65.
  20. ^ Margolies, P.J. (1977). "Behavioral approaches to the treatment of early infantile autism: A review". Psychological Bulletin. 84 (2): 249–264. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.84.2.249. PMID 840962.
  21. ^ Lord, C. (1993). "Early Social Development in Autism". In Edsopler, E.; Bourgondien, M. Van; Bristol, M. (eds.). Preschool Issues in Autism. New York: Plenum Press. pp. 61–94.
  22. ^ Luiselli, J.; Murbach, L. (2002). "Providing Instruction from Novel Staff as an Antecedent Intervention for Child Tantrum Behavior in a Public School Classroom". Education and Treatment of Children. 25 (3): 356–365. JSTOR 42899711.
  23. ^ Lancioni, G. E.; Smeets, P. M.; Ceccarani, P. S.; Capodaglio, L.; Campanari, G. (1984). "Effects of gross motor activities on the severe self-injurious tantrums of multihandicapped individuals". Applied Research in Mental Retardation. 5 (4): 471–482. doi:10.1016/S0270-3092(84)80039-9. PMID 6240965.
  24. ^ Sandra Ketcham. "Temper Tantrums and Autism". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  25. ^ Osterman, Karin; Bjorkqvist, Kaj (April 1, 2010). "A Cross-Sectional Study of Onset, Cessation, Frequency, and Duration of Children's Temper Tantrums in a Nonclinical Sample". Psychological Reports. 106 (2): 448–454. doi:10.2466/pr0.106.2.448-454. PMID 20524545. S2CID 43291154.
  26. ^ Bennie, Maureen (2 February 2016). "Tantrum vs Autistic Meltdown: What Is The Difference?". Autism Awareness. Autism Awareness Centre Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  27. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). p. 242.
  28. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). p. 257.
  29. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). pp. 242 & 257–8.
  30. ^ a b H. Goldenberg; I. Goldenberg (2007). Family Therapy. p. 172.
  31. ^ a b Edmund Bergler in J. Halliday/P. Fuller eds., The Psychology of Gambling (London 1974) p. 182
  32. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. p. 152.
  33. ^ Dennis, Tracy A. (2006). "Emotional self-regulation in preschoolers: The interplay approach reactivity, and control capacities". Developmental Psychology. 42 (1): 84–97. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.1.84. PMID 16420120. S2CID 14692506.
  34. ^ William Makepeace Thackeray (1848). The Irish Sketch Book. p. 138.
  35. ^ Cooper Lawrence, The Cult of Celebrity (2009) p. 72
  36. ^ Simon Crompton, All about Me (London 2007) p. 176
  37. ^ "North Jersey". North Jersey. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

External links[]

  • The dictionary definition of tantrum at Wiktionary
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