Arghh!!! DS (16mths) is turning into a little sod! Help!

[CrookshanksinJimmyChoos]

Tantrums left right and centre!

He came home from nursery today and I took him for a little walk outside the house. Up and down we went, looking at all the cars etc. I then walked back to front door step and sat down with him and he didn't like this and had one mahoosive tantrum!

Screamed so much and so loud, I took him in and put him on the floor, at which point he banged his head on floor in temper and marked his forehead! I started to cry and put him in the travel cot so that he had a safe, cushiony place to have a tantrum and left him to it until he calmed down, which he did do as got distracted by the toys in the travel cot but my God - its awful! He's protesting at everything - being picked up, put down, nappy changed, hair washed...a mini ball of anger!

Please reassure me this is normal and I won't be found sobbing on Supernanny while the nation tuts at my parenting skills?!!!

My DD3 (16m also) has just gone from a placid little girl who couldn't care less about anything into a stroppy little madame, not quite as extreme as that though...

You have my sympathies.
Recommend earplugs and taking deep breaths!
It's a hard slog but if you can limit the trigger points, be absolutely consistant with him, and get yourself a break from time to time you will get through it.
From about 18mo to 2.5yrs DS was a little demon, but now he has just started reception and though I get treated to the odd flare-up now and then, he is pretty much tamed!

For me it helped to understand that he reserved a lot of his wilfulness for me - just testing my love and boundaries etc. Generally he was much better behaved for other people.

Yes! He's an angel for other people!! On the bright side, I don't need ear plugs as am deaf so I can just switch off hearing aid and watch DS in manner of silent movie.....

Still, takes it out of me though....everything seems to trigger it off!!!

I also got oscar winning performances when leaving him with cm (work 19 hrs p/w) - the full cling-on / have-to-peel-the-wailing-limpet-off-me routine pretty much every time for about 18 months too. Used to reduce me to tears too until the day the cm told me to wait for 3 mins just outside the sl open front door. Hadn't even got outside before the little bugger was giggling away!
So again - all for my benefit. Reserved all his anger for me (- practicing emotions is what i tried to think of it as) but couldn't bear for me to leave!

It is very draining I know. But try and remain as calm and detatched as possible - for your own sanity if nothing else. I used to have a big ball of bluetac that i would knead and pummel as a distraction for me.

I walk away as that normally stops the tantrum but today I walked away only to find him head butting the floor so it was right into the travel cot for him. He really has a temper! Maybe its the sheer frustration of not being verbal yet....from a childs perspective it must be very frustrating

Yes there were often bad phases that seemed to coincide with him mentally moving onto wanting things his body couldn't manage yet. DD was a bit like that too, but she was a rank amateur in the temper stakes.
Seemed to go in peaks and troughs.

Both DH and I have very firey tempers - flares right up then can go very quickly so I guess its come out in DS! Arghh!!!