Tantrum

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Christina Rossetti in a Tantrum" by her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

A tantrum, temper tantrum, lash out, meltdown, fit, or hissy fit is an emotional outburst,[1][2][3] usually associated with those in emotional distress. It is typically characterized by stubbornness, crying, screaming, violence,[4] defiance,[5] angry ranting, a resistance to attempts at pacification, and, in some cases, hitting and other physically violent behavior. Physical control may be lost; the person may be unable to remain still; and even if the "goal" of the person is met, they may not be calmed. Throwing a temper tantrum can lead to a child getting detention or being suspended from school for older school age children, and can result in a timeout or grounding, complete with room or corner time, at home.[6][7][8][9][10][11] A tantrum may be expressed in a tirade: a protracted, angry speech.[6][7][12]

In early childhood

Tantrums are one of the most common forms of problematic behavior in young children but tend to decrease in frequency and intensity as the child gets older.[13] For a toddler, tantrums can be considered as normal, and even as gauges of developing strength of character.[14][15][16]

Child having a tantrum

While tantrums are sometimes seen as a predictor of future

anti-social behavior,[17] in another sense they are simply an age-appropriate sign of excessive frustration,[18] and will diminish over time given a calm and consistent handling.[19][20][21] Parental containment where a child cannot contain themself—rather than what the child is ostensibly demanding—may be what is really required.[22]

Selma Fraiberg warned against "too much pressure or forceful methods of control from the outside" in child-rearing: "if we turn every instance of pants changing, treasure hunting, napping, puddle wading and garbage distribution into a governmental crisis we can easily bring on fierce defiance, tantrums, and all the fireworks of revolt in the nursery".[23]

Intellectual and developmental disorders

Some people who have developmental disorders such as Autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability[24] or even a developmental disability, could be more vulnerable to tantrums than others, although anyone experiencing brain damage (temporary or permanent) can suffer from tantrums.[25] Anyone may be prone to tantrums once in a while, regardless of gender or age.[26][27] However, a meltdown due to sensory overload (which even neurotypical children can experience) is not the same as a temper tantrum.[28]

Aberrations

A Welsh Government video explaining the difference between tantrums and meltdowns.

Freud considered that the Wolf Man's development of temper tantrums was connected with his seduction by his sister: he became "discontented, irritable and violent, took offence on every possible occasion, and then flew into a rage and screamed like a savage".[29] Freud linked the tantrums to an unconscious need for punishment driven by feelings of guilt[30]—something which he thought could be generalised to many other cases of childhood tantrums.[31][32]

Heinz Kohut contended that tantrums were rages of anger,[33] caused by the thwarting of the infant's grandiose-exhibitionist core. The blow to the inflated self-image, when a child's wishes are (however justifiably) refused, creates fury because it strikes at the feeling of omnipotence.[34]

Jealousy over the birth of a sibling, and resulting aggression, may also provoke negativistic tantrums, as the effort at controlling the feelings overloads the child's system of self-regulation.[35][36]

In later life

Writer William Makepeace Thackeray claimed that in later life "you may tell a tantrum as far as you can see one, by the distressed and dissatisfied expression of its countenance—'Tantrumical', if we may term it so".[37]

Heinz Kohut contended that "the baby’s core is likely to contain a self-centered, grandiose-exhibitionist part", and that "tantrums at being frustrated thus represent narcissistic rages"[33] at the blow to the inflated self-image. With "a child confronted with some refusal ... regardless of its justifications, the refusal automatically provokes fury, since it offends his sense of omnipotence".[34]

The willingness of the

acquired situational narcissism[39]
or tantrumical behavior.

If older people show tantrums, they might often be signs of immaturity or a mental or developmental disability; and often autistic or ADHD meltdowns are incorrectly labelled tantrums. It can also occur in neurotypical people under extreme stress.[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ Album, Cabinet (1830). "The Cabinet Album A Collection of Original and Selected Literature". The. Hurst, Chance and Company: 92.
  2. ^ Foote, Samuel (1765). "The Dramatic Works Volume 1". The Dramatic Works. 1. P. Vaillant: 40–41.
  3. ^ Payn, James (1869). Married Beneath Him. A novel. By the author of "Lost Sir Massingberd" James Payn. The British Library. p. 369.
  4. ^ O'Hara, Kane (1770). "Midas An English Burletta. As it is Performed at the Theatre-Royal, in Covent-Garden". Midas an English Burletta. As It is Performed at the Theatre-Royal, in Covent-Garden: 20.
  5. ^ GOMBERT, A. J. (1825). "The French Drama ... with Notes Critical and Explanatory, by A. G. Volume 2 of The French Drama ... with Notes Critical and Explanatory, by A. G". The French Drama... 2. The British Library: 47.
  6. ^ a b Penelope Leach. "What is a tantrum?". BabyCentre. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  7. ^ a b "Temper Tantrums". KidsHealth. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  8. ^ Karisa Ding (July 26, 2017). "Tantrums". BabyCenter. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  9. ^ Jan Hunt. "When a Child Has a Tantrum". The Natural Child Project. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  10. S2CID 144110786
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  11. .
  12. .
  13. .
  14. ^ Robin Skynner; John Cleese (1993). Families and how to survive them. p. 177.
  15. ^ Isaacs, S. (1940). "Temper tantrums in early childhood in their relation to internal objects". The International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 21: 280–293.
  16. JSTOR 42725308
    .
  17. .
  18. .
  19. ^ Roy Benaroch (2008). Solving Health and Behavioural Problems from Birth Through Preschool. p. 157.
  20. .
  21. .
  22. ^ Patrick Casement (1990). Further Learning from the Patient. pp. 113–4.
  23. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. p. 65.
  24. JSTOR 42899711
    .
  25. .
  26. ^ Sandra Ketcham. "Temper Tantrums and Autism". LoveToKnow. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  27. S2CID 43291154
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  28. ^ Bennie, Maureen (2 February 2016). "Tantrum vs Autistic Meltdown: What Is The Difference?". Autism Awareness. Autism Awareness Centre Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  29. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). p. 242.
  30. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). p. 257.
  31. ^ Sigmund Freud. Case Histories II (PFL 9). pp. 242 & 257–8.
  32. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(1997)23:5<329::AID-AB3>3.0.CO;2-D.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  33. ^ a b H. Goldenberg; I. Goldenberg (2007). Family Therapy. p. 172.
  34. ^ a b Edmund Bergler in J. Halliday/P. Fuller eds., The Psychology of Gambling (London 1974) p. 182
  35. ^ Selma H. Fraiberg (1987). The Magic Years. p. 152.
  36. S2CID 14692506
    .
  37. ^ William Makepeace Thackeray (1848). The Irish Sketch Book. J. Winchester. p. 138.
  38. ^ Cooper Lawrence, The Cult of Celebrity (2009) p. 72
  39. ^ Simon Crompton, All About Me (London 2007) p. 176
  40. ^ "North Jersey". North Jersey. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

External links

  • The dictionary definition of tantrum at Wiktionary