Alright! You hear about other people’s kids who throw tantrums, but you always hope your kid never becomes one of those kids. Ben, officially, is one of those kids! BUT HE’S ONLY 15 MONTHS OLD!! What do we have to look forward to when he’s 2 or even 5? But we think he’s different.
Most kids who throw tantrums don’t care where they are (ie. in the middle isle of a busy Walmart or in the busy parking lot lane on a Saturday afternoon). Ben, on the other hand, seems to only do it at home or at his grandmothers.
Most kids just toss themselves onto the 1) pavement 2) cement sidewalk or 3) muddy leaves with little regard to how it’s going to hurt when they slam their craniums down. Ben, on the other hand, starts to whine a little bit, sits down, does a shoulder check to see how hard the pavement is going to be and then decides 1) if it’s soft (like carpet), “throw head down quickly and cry loudly” or 2) if the pavement is hard (like tile or hardwood floor), ”lean into the pavement making sure the head doesn’t hit the pavement too hard, AND THEN CRY LOUDLY”. Either way, the shoulder check is important….he’s got to protect the head. He’s figured out that hard pavement + soft cranium = “a lot of pain that parents just brush off”.
In all cases, he’ll cry for maybe 45 seconds, look around to see that no one is really paying attention, and then pick himself up, wipe any tears that may have flowed, and the pick up the closes toy/object on the floor and proceed to put it into his mouth. He’ll walk over to the closest person, smile and then hand them the toy/object. All is good again.
That’s my boy!!