My 21 month old boy has become a tyrant overnight.He gets angry and throw things, also pinch with his fingers?

Question

Whenever he wants anything and he's not getting it, he flings himself on the floor and often result to trowing whatever is near him or crawl with his nail at the person near him.he is an adorable child though.His there a cause of concern here

Answer 1

I'm guessing he is in day care. He learned this charming behavior there. Watch the supernanny on ABC...she'll give the tools to solve this tyrant.

Answer 2

He is approaching the 'terrible twos' I'm afraid. He is just throwing tantrums. Just remove is hand when he pinches, look him in the eye and calmy and firmly say 'no' and then ignore him if he carries on whinging. You can also do a 'time out' with him. He is a bit young to be able to make him stay on a naughty step/corner, but you can sit down and hold him facing away from you, saying nothing until he calms down. These methods can take some time, but they are effective. My 18 month old nephew had taken to biting occasionally and to throwing things, my brother and his wife are using the method I describe and he is steadily improving. I know it can be desperately frustrating, but persist and you will get results. Whatever you do don't lose your temper with him, otherwise he will see that his bad behaviour gets a reaction (which equates attention, which his wants) and will think that temper is an acceptable form of behaviour. Don't worry that there is any particular cause for concern, he is just being a toddler, but you do need to nip the behaviours in the bud. Good luck with it.

Answer 3

I am sorry to say but it sounds like he has the "terrible twos" This can happen at any age around 2 years old. It may seem harsh but I would try some tough love on him. If he throws himself to the floor, make sure he can't hurt himself on anything, then walk off and leave him. He is doing it for reaction, if you leave him too it, he will think, "hang on where's mum?" It may take a couple of times but he will get the idea. If he comes up to you and pinches you, lift his hand away, and walk off and leave him to it, again he is getting no reaction.
When he is being good, you MUST give him some attention, he will soon learn that if he is naughty, mummy doesn't give me her time, but when I am a good boy mummy smiles at me and gives me her time. When he is being nice and calm, talk to him, explain that when her pinches someone it hurts them, ask him if he'd like someone to hurt him. He may only be 21 months but he will understand, never underestimate how clever children can be. Believe it or not they are little experts at getting their own way.

At the moment there is no real cause for concern, but if you do not stamp out his behaviour he may be a bigger problem when he is older. Set his boundaries now, or when he is 7+ you will find it may get worse.

Good luck, give him a kiss and enjoy him, children are happier when they have set boundaries!

Answer 4

I do not think that there is anything wrong with your son. I have a son who has just turned two and he went through and is going through the same thing. Your son lacks the verbal communication skills to express his anger and this frustration is causing him to lash out. It is normal, but it is important to make sure that your son doesn't hurt himself or others when he is going through this. I now how upsetting it is when you see your son throwing himself on the floor, but it doesn't mean that he is aggressive or has any sort of problem. He just needs lots of reassurance from you, and a distraction if possible. The distraction technique does work and I recommend that you try it. If you know that you have to take something away from your son, try and replace it with something that he is allowed to play with and this should stop him from getting too upset. I hope this helps.

Answer 5

He is not spoilt, this is perfectly normal behaviour. At this age they are just discovering their place in the world, there are so many new things he has recently learnt to do, and yet so many things that he wants to do and can't, or can but is not allowed!! It's a very confusing world for a toddler. He loves his new independence and doesn't understand why you would want to stop him. Also when he does come across situations that don't go his way he has no idea how to cope with the emotions, hence he just gives in to them and screams. The best you can do is stay calm, keep explaining things to him in language he can understand and comfort him when he gets upset. Give him little tasks to do to make him feel grown up and distract him when you see one of these situations coming up. Good luck! "This too will pass!"

Answer 6

Welcome to the infamous "terrible two's"... I have a 2.5 year old daughter and we have tons of friends with similar aged boys and girls..

Basically it appears to just be about the frustration of wanting to do and say things but stuggling to do so effectively...

From what we have read and gleaned from other (perhaps wiser) parents who have been through this - NOW is the time for gentle discipline... Your son will actually need this if they are to develop healthy social interactions... he is trying to test his boundaries and it's essential that you let him know what is acceptable and what is not...

If you don't do it now you'll really struggle later on... however.. we found this very hard... we finally went with a "two minute" rule... put them somewhere away from toys, books etc for two minutes... in a cot works well...

They will cry and be upset but within a few days they will start to get the idea... I never understood the expression "spare the hand... spoil the child..." so much as I do now... but you can instigate discipline without having to smack etc (which we don't personally agree with...)

Reward them also - but be careful here... otherwise you'll give out the wrong messages... don't reward them for "not acting up" - reward them for things like clearing up after themselves etc,.

Good luck

Answer 7

What planet does Pollypocket live on?

At 21 months he's about to enter the notorious terrible twos - and that's not a cliche. This is the age where toddlers begin to realise that they have a mind of their own, and will start pushing the boundaries. Have a word with your health visitor, but I very much doubt there's anything to worry about.

Just be consistent about what you expect of him, and perhaps pretty soon you should think about introducing a naughty step (probably bit too young just at the moment though).

Answer 8

This sounds just like a male version of my little girl Ni she is 18 months old.She rules over our house with an iron will at the moment and woe be tide me or her older brothers and sister if we cross her!what i do when she starts flipping out ,slapping people or throwing down and breakdancing all over the floor is try and keep a straight face to start with and dont take any notice. The only other one of my kids who was like this ( i have 5 in all) was my eldest son and its just a case of having a fiery personality and not taking any sh.. in general not bad characteristics to have. at that age they are just realising that they are seperate people capable of making their own desicions and it can sometimes go a bit far. Bear in mind that its frustrating for him not being able to easily communicate his wants as language skills are not polished yet. He will grow out of it, dont argue back or copy any of his behaviour. im afraid you just have to live with it for the time being. There are some great baby tee's with the words "evil dictator" on the front , sounds like they'd be just the thing!

Answer 9

Oh what fun, he's approaching the terrible 2's although they are known to start at 18 months. My daughter is 2 & whilst her tantrums aren't that bad (yet) she can put on quite a performance when she wants something (usually an ice pole before tea time!). Apparently boys throw bigger strops than girls but how true that is I'm not sure. When my daughter throws a paddy I ignore her, if I shout at her it's giving her attention, as silly as that may sound but it's true. If you ignore him, tell him off if he does hurt someone but eventually he'll see that his tantrums aren't having the desired effect anymore! Good luck

Answer 10

Yes, it's the first adolescence - and at that age he has absolutely no idea what's right and what's wrong. You just have to be firm but loving - as you said he's still adorable. Mine did just that - fascination with karate chops, beating up other kids in the playground, kamikaze falls off the sofa... but by 2 and a half he'll astound you with his progress. "You've got to go through hell before you get to heaven"!

Answer 11

yep, terrible two's.
They start around 20 months and last until 3 1/2.
They get frustrated because they cannot verbalize how they feel/what they want.
Maybe try baby sign language. You can teach him signs for daily things like moore and milk.
This may hellp ease some frustrations he's having with trying to communicate.
Good luck!