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Tantrums - urgent help needed with bedtime drama

6 replies

JoshandJamie · 11/04/2008 19:31

I posted a couple of days ago about my 2.5 year old having an hour and a half long tantrum. They've escalated and are now becoming absolutely impossible. I think the fact that he's on steroids for a bad chest might be the cause. But am not sure how to handle them.

For example, he refused to get dressed for bed - this was after refusing most other things all day (had to go to nursery in his pjs because he refused to get dressed this morning). Because he wouldn't get dressed, he missed story time. He is now dressed after much fighting but now he is screaming 'I want a book to read, I want a book to read'. Past experience shows that he just keeps saying the same thing over and over and over. And it can last hours. It is now 30 mins past his bedtime. His screaming is not only keeping his brother up and making him cry, but I don't see it ending unless I read him a fucking book.

But that to me goes against all parenting rules that say if you give into a tantrum, it just spurs him on the next time. What do I do - read him a book? Stick with it and let him get even more overtired until he collapses with exhaustion.

At this point distraction isn't an option. Help. from a very tired mother who is absolutely sick of these tantrums and is dreaming of him outgrowing this phase

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
K999 · 11/04/2008 19:33

Read him a book, tell him it's now time to sleep and then leave the room. Does he usually get a story at night?

JoshandJamie · 11/04/2008 19:43

He normally gets a story - but they both know the rules. That they get stories if they get dressed nicely, have a final pee etc. He refused to do anything I asked. I said that if he didn't get dressed he would miss out on storytime. He kept refusing, so we went ahead with storytime without him. He then still refused to get dressed and started the I want a story screamathon.

However, crisis has been averted. The length of time it took me to type the post gave him a chance to yell himself into almost being exhausted. I then had to endure a few minutes of being bashed before he said he wanted water (unsurprisingly given he'd yelled himself hoarse) which I said yes, if he climbed into his bed and stopped shouting.

Which he did. sigh

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JoshandJamie · 11/04/2008 19:44

heading off to the wine cupboard...

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mybestfriendiscalledstig · 11/04/2008 19:46

I remember your post last time.
So glad this one worked out for you - sounds like you (& he) are having a rough time.
Enjoy your well deserved vino

Hillbilly · 11/04/2008 20:13

Yes I second that - enjoy the wine!

3littlefrogs · 11/04/2008 20:24

Steroids are horrible - they can make children (and anybody else) very aggressive and evil tempered. Very hard to cope with in a 2 year old. Have you tried moving bedtime forward half an hour? He is probably over tired if he is not well.

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