The following, with some variations depending on mood, severity of provocation, size of audience, public-ness of venue, etc., is the basic anatomy of one of Jack's tantrums.
He typically starts off with an aerobic run, a la Jennifer Beals at the beginning of the "Maniac" number in the movie "Flashdance."
Then he drops to his knees like Brandi Chastain (but without the jubilant expression):
At this point, the screaming usually begins.
And when I say screaming, I mean eardrum-piercing, brain-vibrating shrieks that frequently frighten other children so much they run crying to their parents. I'm surprised that he hasn't shattered a nearby window yet.Finally, he usually finishes up by banging his forehead on the floor (often repeatedly) or falling backward. Regardless of which end of his head hits the ground, it regularly does so with a sickening *thud* that makes visions of the ER flash before my eyes.** And then once the tantrum ends, we are usually left with a lovely goose-egg and some permanent hearing loss to remember it by.
A friend of ours recently lamented that her daughter, who is a couple of months older than Jack, is entering the "terrible twos." She expressed horrified shock that her little girl is now throwing two tantrums a day. I didn't want to sound unsympathetic, but I couldn't help but laugh. TWO tantrums a day? The above happens so often that it has never occurred to me to count.
I know there are a lot of things I will miss about this age, but I have a feeling these tantrums will not be one of them.
** At our most recent visit to the pediatrician, I asked how likely it is that Jack could seriously hurt himself with all his headbanging. They are genuinely terrifying, and a good friend raised the spectre of the Natasha Richardson tragedy just today. The pediatrician put us at ease by telling us that headbanging is a pretty common behavior and that he's never seen a toddler give himself such a bad laceration that medical attention was required. They are still awful to witness, but what the pediatrician said did reassure us somewhat.
2 comments:
Oh Janis, here I am again- I love your writing. Most of all I love you and Jack- you are so good with him, and he's lucky to have you. You handle his tantrums so well- it can't be easy. I'm glad you write about it- Anna is getting close to tantrum times, I'm sure, and it's reassuring to know that it's...."normal." :-)
Janis, I understand! Aiyana went through it for what seemed like 2 years! Just remember that this too shall pass and patience is a virtue! As Nat said, Jack is lucky to have you! It is funny though, when the tantrum is in public and others forget how children behave and send their "I'm appalled" looks towards you.
Post a Comment