It’s usually the terrible twos…but I’m afraid we might be in the terrible twelve-months slice. I know I’m bragging here…but Fiona has always been ahead of schedule….got her nap schedule down sooner, switched to one nap months before (no one else her age is doing that yet and she’s been at one nap for months), rolled, crawled, walked – you know…all those milestones she was ahead of “average” – this is pretty normal it seems for, as Dr. Sears puts it – High Needs Children…or Spirited Children….or “beautiful forces of nature” (my favorite)….it means nothing more then that we need to read ahead a few chapters in all of those childhood development books.
It seems that that may be true when it comes to tantrums too. Now Fi hasn’t been feeling well lately so that certainly adds to the frequency and longevity of said tantrums…but it’s 1 p.m. and we’ve already survived three for the day….one DOOZY last night before bed (i’m sure she was TOO tired) and are looking forward to more =)
They generally are over not getting some item that she feels she desperately needs and we feel she doesn’t, that she wants to go outside – regardless of time of day or weather or how dressed we are, or getting dressed/diaper changed. They involve a lot of screaming and crying and yelling and stomping – and my favorite – banging her head against the ground or nearest wall repeatedly. It makes me wonder why this seems to be an innate reaction for humans….I know she isn’t the only child to bang her head against something….how exactly did that help our ancestors survive? Did the T-Rex think they were too crazy to eat? Anyway…I digress….
So we’ve been reading books and web sites about tantrums (by we I mean me) and trying our best to turn these into “learning experiences”. HA!
Ah yes, Fi and J are like peas in a pod… they should never procreate together. ha
Though the combo might make very mild mannered children??? ha Anyway. Jason goes in and out of temper tantrum stage … my best advice? let her work it out (so long as she is safe) and give her no attention about it. You can stand close by to supervise, but don’t intervene or make eye contact. Say something along the lines of, “I see you need to work through something. Let me know when you are done” That works sometimes. 
SO far discipline in those times is fruitless.
The last time (last week) J was in the midst of one of his 20 min episodes Tom took him in a dark (not totally dark/not light) room and put him down. I eventually went in and laid w/ him and he CRASHED! He was tired… which I think (my personal opinion) happens here and there as they are growing, but sticking to their routine … for us they won’t sleep longer when they are tired … they will just get fried. Jason spazzes when fried.
Anyway… that’s all I got… that and loads of sympathy!