Tantrum

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 gets older.^[18] For a toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, and even as gauges of developing strength of character.^[19][20][21]

While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future anti-social behavior,^[22] in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration,^[23] and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.^[24][25][26] Parental containment where a child cannot contain themself—rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding—may be what is really required.^[27]

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".^[28]

Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age^[29], however tantrums may be more frequent in people with an intellectual disability^[30] or experiencing brain damage (temporary or permanent).^[31]

While the outward behavior of a tantrum and a meltdown (including an Autistic meltdown) may be similar, meltdowns are generally the result of sensory overload rather than goal-oriented behaviour, and are outside of the control of the individual experiencing them.^[32] Applying common strategies for dealing with tantrums in children when a child is experiencing a meltdown is ineffective and can worsen the distress of the child.^[33]

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".^[34] Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt^[35]—something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.^[36][37]

Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were rages of anger, caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core.^[38] 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.^[39]

Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression,^[40] may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.^[41][42]

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".^[43]

The willingness of the celebrity to throw tantrums whenever thwarted to the least degree^[44] is a kind of acquired situational narcissism^[45] or tantrumical behavior.

If older people show tantrums, they might often be signs of immaturity or a mental or developmental disability; and often autistic or ADHD meltdowns are incorrectly labelled tantrums. It can also occur in neurotypical people under extreme stress.^[46]

• Acting out – Performing an action considered bad
• Amok syndrome – Aggressive behavioral pattern
• Berserker fights in a frenzy
• Philippic – Damning speech to condemn a particular political actor
• Attention seeking – To act in a way that is likely to elicit attention
• Histrionic personality disorder – Personality disorder involving excessive emotionality and attention-seeking