by Veronica Spettmann


Have you ever looked after your young nieces and nephews and had to deal with a traumatizing temper tantrum? Did you ever try to console them or tease them just to find that the tantrum gets worse? Well, scientists decided there may be patterns behind tantrums to help desperate parents (and Aunties) deal with these situations.

In a recent article on WNYC.org, Aunties find relief for tantrum woes. Michael Potegal of the University of Minnesota and James A. Green of the University of Connecticut discovered that children’s tantrums have patterns that fluctuate between anger and sadness.  The one way to get past the anger, which is associated with the screaming and kicking, is to simply ignore it. The article says, “Once the child was past being angry what was left was sadness, and sad children reach out for comfort.”

The article advises that Aunties not even acknowledge their nieces and nephews when they are in the heat of anger. Asking children questions or teasing them during a tantrum could only make matters worse, because they won’t have the capacity to process the new information.

Recognizing that tantrums have a rhythm can not only help Aunties to end their nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums more quickly, but will give Auntie a sense that she is in control. Scientists recognize that it is easier to say you will ignore a child’s tantrum than to actually do so, but their study of more than 100 temper tantrums proves that Aunties really need to try to stand firm.

The article explains that tantrums can be studied scientifically like thunderstorms, and says, “Studying them as scientific subjects rather than experiencing them like parents can cause the tantrums to stop feeling traumatic and even become interesting.” While describing tantrums as “interesting” may seem to be a bit of a stretch, learning how to control nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums is something every Auntie is interested in!



Published: December 7, 2011