When a four-year-old runs away and comes down shaking...

[Scootergrrrl]

What does it mean? DD has a friend to play and there has just been some contretemps over a pair of sparkly pink shoes
I was in the kitchen and came in to find DD sat on floor screaming and her friend, who is something of an odd child, shot off upstairs and had to be coaxed back down. She was physically shaking and saying she wanted her mummy. All is obviously ok now, approx three minutes later, but I thought it was a bit strange.
Any thoughts?

Is there a possibility that she is very used to getting her own way all the time and didn't know how to handle it?

She does get her own way A LOT. This is the child who, when she wanted to walk home with DD from pre-school, and her mum was in the car, screamed so much that her mum said "Oh, I think I'd better let her come home with you if she wants to so much"....

sometimes small children hate noise and screaming upsets them greatly.

Perhaps she was just scared of your reaction? You are 'The great unknown' to her

I have seen dd (3) shake wíth anger and frustration - I think it is when she is trying to hold it all in. Think it was just her way of dealing with the fall out of whatever their fight was about.

Agree with colditz. Probably embarrassed too.

It sounds to me like she was scared of your reaction.

Err, not suggesting she had any reason to be scared of your reaction...I am sure you are not an ogre!...but as Colditz says, she does not know how you might react.