.jpg)
Wanted: Worst Toddler Tantrums EVER!
Categories: Toddlers
Let's set the scene: You are out (running errands, in a store, in a restaurant) with your young child and seemingly out of NOWHERE, your kid completely melts down. You know what we're talking about -- the resistant arch in the back, the giant tears, the red face and the wails of pain and anguish that go hand-in-hand with a huge temper tantrum. People stare and shake their heads as you helplessly try to get your child to calm down, but to no avail. Your toddler is mighty unhappy, and they are going to make sure everyone knows it!
Every parent has a horrendous tantrum story, and we want to hear all about it. Share your comments with us below -- if we like your story, it could be included in an upcoming ParentDish feature!
Recent Posts
- Suri Cruise Stumbles in Her High Heels (11/20/2009)
- Sports Traditions as Important During Holidays as Turkey, Gifts Under the Tree (11/20/2009)
- Parents, School Fight Over Gym Class For Student With Diabetes (11/19/2009)
- Hot Toddler Trend: Dress Your Kid Like Suri for the Holidays (11/19/2009)
- Company Charging to Decode Your Baby's Name (11/19/2009)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Cell phones ok 6-18-2009 @ 12:26AM
Here's my tantrum story...my daughter was about 3 years old and we were at the doctor's office to get her tested for kidney reflux. They had given her, basically, a tranquilizer to keep her calm while they were doing the procedure to test for the reflux, but they didn't wait for it to kick in before they began. It finally kicked in AFTER her testing. When we were getting her dressed she was crying and calling the nurse and me "a twit." I have not idea where she got that from but I was trying really hard not to laugh because it was just so funny. She had never said that word before. When we got her dressed the nurse was walking us out and we had to walk down a long hallway. During this walk, my daughter turned around many times and started running and yelling "I need to see the doctor!" This was funny until about the fifth time. I picked her up and she fought back and promised not to run if I set her down so I did, but of course she turned and ran again! We finally got out of the clinic and...yes, there's more...she decided she was going to drive home and would not get out of the driver's seat. I picked her up and put her back in her carseat in the back seat and she kept unbuckling and getting into the front. Then she decided she would just sit in the front on the passenger's side not in her carseat. I tried to explain to her (big mistake trying to rationalize with a high 3 year old!) that mommy would get a ticket for letting her do this because it was illegal. She really didn't care. I finally got her to stay in her seat in the back after about half an hour. She was sleeping before we even left the parking lot, thank goodness!
Reply
Jessica 6-18-2009 @ 11:41AM
My best toddler melt down is times two and it also takes place in the doctors office. I took my 4 year old daughter to have her physical for kindergarten and I had to bring along my 2 year old son. My daughter is a drama queen so even the simplest tasks can end up in a crying fit. She cried and was scared of the scale, the gown and trying to pee in a cup. My son was fine during this portion of the exam, but screamed out and started crying as if he had been given a shot when the doctor began to give my daughter her physical exam. She, of course, was screaming and crying and struggling with the doctor at the same time I was trying to calm my son down. Well... it doesn't end there. Since most kids in America are overweight or obese, my 39 pound daughter had to have a cholesteral test. We go to the lab and the entire walk to the lab from the office is littered with questions about if she will have to have a shot, does she have to see the doctor again, will Jack cry again, can we go to badonalds (McDonalds) for lunch, when is lunch, I have to pee and so on and so on for about 15 minutes. We get to the lab and go right in. The first guy tries to stick her, but with her constant screaming and crying, he misses the vein. Two nurses then come into the room and Mia is a mess. The three of us pin her down and she starts screaming that she is "gonna die" and if they "shoot her" then she will die. She did not do this when she had five shots from the health department! Finally, the needle is in and she whimpers and looks at the nurse and says "that doesn't hurt." She was fine after that and my son was just silent the entire time, thank goodness.
Joseph A Guignon 7-09-2009 @ 8:07PM
I think it's time to change doctors! She probably picked up that word 'twit' from a nurse or other health care worker;unless she goes to a preschool and then it's anybodies guess!
Sissy 7-10-2009 @ 5:34AM
It sounds to me like she was having a reaction to the mild sedative they had given her.
leslie 6-18-2009 @ 5:09PM
One day, my now 5 year old, who was 2 at the time and I had gone to eat dinner at a local dinner. She still had food left on her plate and wanted a "to-go" box. The waitress brought her a big box and she flipped out. she wanted a little box but they were out and her tiny little brain couldn't understand that. I had to drag a screaming baby out and sat with her in the parking lot for 45 minutes until i could put her in the car and drive away everyone was staring at us, because not only was she upset about not haveing a small "to-go" box, she was also not happy about having to leave her favorite dining place.
Reply
Christine 6-18-2009 @ 6:37PM
I took my son who is now 9, shopping at Macy's when he was about 4 years old. I was buying clothes for him and the entire time he was moaning and whining that I was taking too long. He began to yell at me that I was a slow shopper. I was completely ignoring him and saying to him "mmmhmmm". When we were at the checkout he had about had enough. He threw himself on the floor face down kicking and screaming. I finished paying for my things and said to him calmly, "are you ready to go?" He replied with, "Mommy, your fired!" I said back to him, "I've been waiting for you to say that for four years!"
Reply
Dee 7-10-2009 @ 7:36AM
"I've been waiting for you to say that for four years!" LMBO!!! Priceless! Your reaction was wonderful. You didn't yell, scream or get upset. Congrats on an excellent job.
Krystine 6-19-2009 @ 1:03PM
I just got to experience my very first, and therefore my very worst, tantrum at my son’s baseball game last week. My boys, 2, 5 & 8, get to split a bag of popcorn and each get a piece of bubblegum at the start of the game. The 2 yr old kept tossing his popcorn "for da birdies, mom" on the ground, and after the 3rd time, he said he didn’t want it, so I took his little bowl away. It kind of started there, he was whining for the popcorn, but I know he’s not gonna eat it, he just wants to throw it, so I said, eat your gum if you don't want your popcorn. Fine, until he started taking it out of his mouth and playing with it, then putting it on the bleachers, and back in his mouth, yumm! And after the 3rd time, I made him spit it out. And then it really started... he stormed away and stood behind the bleachers shrieking "I want my guuuuuummmmm" over and over, and just wailing like he was possessed. I didn't know what to do, none of my kids has ever had a tantrum, ever, and apparently you really CAN'T comfort a tantruming child. All the other parents were just staring at us, I was so embarrassed, I felt like the worst mom in the world! I really thought he would eventually stop, but no, it went on for at least 15 minutes, and I ended up having to take him and his brother home. I had to leave my son's game, it was that bad. The "guuuuuuuummmm chant” went on for the entire walk/struggle/drag/ trip back to the car (right past the huge birthday party at the park, yeah, more parents to point and stare at us) and eventually turned into "I want my popcoooorrrrrn" ALL the way home. Once we got home, he didn't stop crying and shrieking for another half hour, no matter what I did, where I put him, but he finally just tuckered out and gave up. And then, maybe 5 minutes after he stopped, he sat down with me, gave me a kiss, and laid his little head on me, like nothing had happened.
Reply
Anna 6-22-2009 @ 11:35AM
There's so many, but, most recently: Burger King drive- thru. Upon driving in the parking lot, my son screamed he wanted to go to the playset in Burger King, I continued onto the drive-thru. He undid his seatbelt and began pulling the door handle. I immediately got out of the car and fixed the seat belt. He continued on screaming and yelling that he wanted out while pulling the doorhandle to get out. The employee and I spent sometime trying to get our order straight over my screaming child while I was reaching behind me trying to keep my sons hand off the door handle before he was going to break it. He continued to scream. Cars behind me and ahead of me, I was surely stuck. Even while at the window, my son continued to scream,kick and yank the door handle as I had my arm behind me still struggling to keep his hand off the handle. The employee just looked at me. I was sure I was looking very stressed!
Reply
reece 7-11-2009 @ 6:24PM
did you ever think about using a broad hand acroos his butt?,,,when
my kids started a trantrum, I used a squirt gun to squirt a little harmless water on them, it worked magic
sade 6-27-2009 @ 11:44AM
My toddler melt was when my almost drove me to my last draw. one day after picking her up from her grandmother house my daughter had turned into a monster i didnt know who she was on the way home she was kicking the back seat punching me in my head while i was driving i repeatly told her to stop she tried to grab the wheel and run us off the road cars behind me was honking the horn i didnt know what to do so i pulled the car over before this child kill us. once i pulled over i open the back door look into my daughter eyes they were blood shot red from her screaming and crying i didnt know who this child was she never acted like this i knew something was wrong. so i got back in the car and continued to drive home after about 30mins she was sleep. when we got home she still was sleep soon as we got in the house she woke i asked her do she know what she did to me she replyed "no mommy" how can a child not remember and i asked her several times and she still replyed she dont remember anything the last thing she remembered was me picking her up from her grandmother house.
Reply
cjsmommy 6-27-2009 @ 3:40PM
what is wrong with you? first off your whole story sounded like it came from a 10 year old. second if your child is properly put in her carseat, she should never be able to reach the steering wheel! third, toddlers get very canky when they are tired. so 9 times outta 10 no they are not going to remember what they did before they fell asleep. plus you cant exactly ask a little one a question like that and expect an answer. hello...
erica 6-29-2009 @ 7:32PM
My most memorable child meltdown came when I was 5 months pregnant and grocery shopping with my 2 and 4 year old. We had finished shopping and we were on line to check out when my 2 year old son, much to his amazement, found himself at perfect eye level with about 75 different candy bars. Since he's 2, he just assumed that the candy buffet was free for the taking, it was only when my 4 year old started screaming that his brother was getting candy and he was not that I realized what was happening. I quickly started prying the candy bars from his little hands when he tried to bite me and started kicking me and calling me stupid mommy before backing himself into a display of batteries. Five candy bars later and a clean up on check out 9 we were on our way out, when my 2 year old, now in a sugar comma, grabbed onto my maternity pants and pulled them down to my ankles. For the last year I have been driving clear across town to the only other grocery store in our area.
Reply
Lori 7-09-2009 @ 11:51PM
LOL! What a nightmare! Especially the pants!
Kimmy 6-30-2009 @ 12:31AM
My son was 2 and a half and my mom was in the hospital for an emergency gall bladder surgery. He was getting fussy and we stopped at the nurses station before heading out. I was asking something and my son is all whinny and pulling my hand and the next thing I know he bites the inside of my leg and doesn't let go. I look down and scream OUCH you just bit me. The nurses all laughed. I still have the mark 5 years later too.
Reply
Donna 6-30-2009 @ 11:04AM
One afternoon, when she was two, my daughter decided that she wanted to go outside and play. Usually that wasn't a problem as our backyard was fenced in. But no, she wanted to go out and play in the front yard which was a problem because we lived on a busy four lane street and if the kids played in the front yard an adult had to be with them. Well, it was dinner time and I was in the middle of cooking it so going out fron wasn't an option. I told my litlle angel (HA!) that she had to play in the back yard or inside, but she couldn't go out front right then. The lip started to quiver and the tears welled up in blue eyes, but the answer stayed the same, no front yard. Then the screams started. And they grew. I don't know how loud they were in decibels, but apparently they were loud enough to be heard not only outside of our house but all the way on the other side of the busy four lane street where a police office was giving out a speeding ticket. He came to my house, knocked on my door and asked if everything was okay, all the while my youngest is still having her screamfest! When I explained just what the problem was, and by that point, offered to let him take her for the sake of peace & quiet in the neighborhood, he turned me down and walked away laughing.
Julie Leimkuehler 6-30-2009 @ 5:10PM
My tantrum was thrown by ME. As kids, my parents took us to church every week. Two of my aunts "taught" the two youngest Sunday School classes. I was about 2, and my favorite aunt taught the 3 year-old class. Well, on this particular day, I was determined to go in the class that I preferred. Of course, I was too young and was told that I had to go in the class for my age group. I pulled and fought my poor mom, pulling her dress every which way and making a scene fit for a diva. My mother was finally able to push me into the room and shut the bottom part of the French door. I had a handful of coins that she had given me to put in the offering. When she gave us kids a few coins each Sunday, she always called it "money for Jesus." When I was pushed inside the door, I pulled back my little fist , and flung my little handful of nickles, dimes, and pennies over the door and into the foyer shouting, "Here's your money for Jesus!" My re-enactment of the routing of money-changers from the Temple by Jesus was the highlight of the day, and was giggled about for weeks by people at the church. My poor mom!
Reply
Michelle 7-01-2009 @ 10:22PM
My most recent tantrum story happened last month. We were at Animal Kingdom in Orlando and it was one of THOSE days. My son who is 2 1/2 and I were waiting for Dad to get his lunch. We were sitting outside at a table and a fly kept landing on our table. My son must have swatted at it to chase it away 20 times and it just kept coming back. Our daughter and myself also participated in the fly battle of the wills. But, Zach had just had enough and started getting frustrated and crying so I took his ball cap which was on the table and took care of the offending creature- permanently. He was dead silent with his mouth wide open and his eyes were huge. He was mortified that I #1 killed it and #2 used HIS hat. He started the mother of all tantrums and jumped up and down screaming at the top of his lungs. Everyone was staring at us or moving from the immediate area. I was trying everything to calm him down- it didn't help that our teenage daughter was finding great humor with the situation. Then he started shaking his stroller as he was standing up in it and it tipped over. Needless to say we took the food "to go", promised to wash his hat and put a band-aid on his forehead as we quickly left the park for the day.
Reply
Anna 7-03-2009 @ 11:40AM
My tantrum story... My soon to be three year old doesnt usually have a freak out and full blown tantrum like i have seen with other kids.. myy daughter is more on the violent side. One day at daycare my soon to be three year old was playing with a baby doll and quite content. The other little girl came up to her and successfully attempted to rip the doll out of her hands. As my daughter started to cry she abruptly stopped and tapped the other little girl on the shoulder. As the other little girl turned around my daughter swung her arm back and full on punched the little girl in the nose. Something like this brongs me to a state of shock because she is not exposed to this kind of behaviour. Also would love to know where she learned this and what this lady has on her t.v during the day while my kids are under her supervision..
Reply
eileen 7-09-2009 @ 11:21AM
I'm so glad to hear your stories, because I have a very headstrong 2 year old and tantrums are happening all day everyday....he can't talk all that well, so I don't always know what he wants, and most of what he wants he can't have......so I don't go too many places....
recent tough ones....
we were shoping in Target...we have more balls than I know what to do with, but he wanted yet another, I just wanted a quick in and out, and was a little short on cash, so the unneeded ball was not on the list or in the budget. He starts to have a fit, screaming bloody murder, every isle I go down to quickly finish the shopping I get a dirty look, a "what are you doing to torture that child?" look....finally I was able to calm him with some fruit snacks, but by that time I was so frazzled I was ready for a melt down myself.
At our pool there are 2 kiddie slides, but the rules are you have to sit on your butt and go down feet first...which is not what my adventure boy always wants to do....and then there's the taking turns part, the waiting in line for the other kids, etc....so one day as the lifeguard keeps yelling at us for not going down the right way, and as I redirect him, and then he flips around and hangs on so no one can use the slide, I can't get him off, the other kids are shouting, the other mommys are giving me dirty looks...so I get him off the slide, he's screaming, kicking, hitting me and I drag him out of the pool, being the entertainment show for all, and as soon as we get to the car....he's fine.
I won't even describe our few feeble attempts to dine out.......I don't think I have the strength...but I do have to say this one time the table closest to us was making "joking" comments.....just loud enought for us to hear about having kids and comments about how children should not be in restaurants during our trauma, one of them being a priest...having been the youngest of 12, raised in the Catholic be fruitful and multiply church, I found this to be particularly insulting....needless to say I consider myself Buddhist.