Parents Feel Overwhelmed by Toddler Temper Tantrums
12 posts across 4 communities in the last 30 days; 50% from r/daddit.
“I know people will probably judge me, but I honestly just need some perspective from other dads because I can't focus on work and my stomach has been in knots for three hours. It happened at 7:45 this morning. We were already running twenty minutes behind, my wife is out of town…”
“I always gets called out at school, my kid is 9 always having a meltdown, outburst, rage. when i discipline him he makes himself sick idk how but he can suddenly ill high temp 100-102. i tried getting all his stuff and he soo used to it he said i always get punished anyway what…”
“I am so tired of getting in trouble for getting angry. I am not going to pretend I am the perfect parent or that I always wait the "appropriate" amount of time to get angry. Sometimes I am reactive just like anyone else can be. I try my best though to go through all the proper…”
Parents are experiencing frequent and intense temper tantrums from their 18-month-old, leading to exhaustion and guilt about childcare choices. They question when the challenging behavior will end.
SOURCES (26)
“My work schedule just changed so I’m taking over school mornings from my wife. She’s run them for years and they’re smooth. I’ve run three and they’ve been chaotic. The kids push back on every step because it’s not how mom does it, and I…”
“I know people will probably judge me, but I honestly just need some perspective from other dads because I can't focus on work and my stomach has been in knots for three hours. It happened at 7:45 this morning. We were already running twenty minutes behind, my wife is out of town for work, and I had a client call at 8:30. My son decided today was the day he would refuse shoes, throw his jacket across the kitchen, and go completely dead-weight on the entryway floor laughing. I tried the calm g”
“I am exhausted and I want to have fun again with my daughter. Please tell me what helped is you ever were in my situation? Mind you I am a preschool teacher so it’s pretty humiliating that I’m getting run down by my own toddler! I know all I’m gonna say is normal, but I want to know how to have fun. My daughter is 2 and a half. She doesn’t nap anymore, even if I lay down with her. At night, she won’t go to sleep before 12am and wakes up at 5am. We cosleep, but I would like her to sleep in her ow”
“So all kids tantrum and get upset. Scream and yell. Ok i get it. Lots of little emotions. Easy enough to deal with. Keep calm. Use words. Hold strong. And ride it out. But like what do you do when it gets violent? Sometimes they start kicking, punching, and throwing things directly at me or my wife. Not often. But it happens. I feel like just “staying calm and using words” may let them think that thats ok. Its one thing to have feelings. Its another thing to act on them. You can be angry. But yo”
“My wife and I are both in our 30s with a 2-year-old daughter. We’re currently having ongoing discussions about whether to have a second child 2–3 years from now once our daughter is in school—and specifically, about my wife wanting to stop working completely if we do. I’m hoping to get some outside perspective from other parents. **Our Current Setup:** **My Situation:** I recently had to medically retire early from my profession due to a major injury and I currently collect a pension that covers”
“I always gets called out at school, my kid is 9 always having a meltdown, outburst, rage. when i discipline him he makes himself sick idk how but he can suddenly ill high temp 100-102. i tried getting all his stuff and he soo used to it he said i always get punished anyway what else more i can lose i dont have anything my thing back. he saying he has the worse childhood because he gets punished every month and cant get what he wants he said its hard for him to change he will not change he said h”
“I'm looking for a gut check here because I think everyone's tolerances are different when it comes to expressing frustration with children. My husband handles morning school drop-off and I take the afternoon. He tends to get really snippy with the kids, even when I feel like they're doing a pretty good job of listening and getting through things. He doesn't yell, but he just sounds grumpy most mornings. It's hard to describe online because the words are the same "Brush y”
“I went on a work trip last week and was gone for 4 days. My 2.5 year old was a mess on the last day. My wife was too. The first two days I was back she was in raging tantrums for basically the entire day. She has tantrums like any 2 year old but nothing more than a bad day here and there. Monday her mom takes her to daycare and everything seemed fine until the end of the night when I asked her to do something (in the bathroom just me and her) and she blew up on me. We worked through it and got h”
“These days my toddler is always in a bad mood. Most of the day is spent in whining and groaning loudly and continuously. It's so grating. He alternates between being angry and throwing things, stomping and then whining and asking to be carried. He sits on me pinching my arm and whining, saying opposites and rebeling and fighting everything. And I mean everything. Drinking water, eating, clothes everything. I mean usually as well it's a struggle obviously with a toddler these days it'”
“I am writing this after an awful fight last night, and an absolute breakdown on both sides, and I need help. So my youngest (2yoa) is currently in the process of being evaluated for Autism, he did the initial checks and to the surprise of everyone but my wife and I he was "at risk" and needs further evaluation. We just took the tour of a specialized group to begin further testing and if necessary intervention. We discovered that its very intensive and could require up to 40 hours a wee”
“My recently 2 year old has been in daycare since about 9 months, we both work fulltime. She did great with daycare previously but we had to move for work and now she is at a new daycare. It is a solid quality daycare with fewer kids, more attention and resources, but she is having a difficult time. She screams at drop off and screams at home when we are getting ready and throughout the day at daycare she will whine for me and “be sad” (I think this is their euphemism for crying) She has definite”
“We have a 3-year-old who I love to death but is definitely an intense kid. Tons of energy, very persistent, gets fixated on things, pushes boundaries constantly, and can turn a normal transition or outing into a battle. My wife seems to have a much lower threshold for it than I do. She gets overwhelmed/frustrated with him pretty quickly, and I find myself getting frustrated with her because I feel like I’m constantly expected to have the higher tolerance or step in when she’s hit her limit. We d”
“I have a 4 and 5 year old. I feel like I’m really just here to serve. Every minute feels like I’m just giving and giving and sacrificing. Is this the foreseeable future? Is this what I signed up for in having these lovely kiddos? They are wonderful but I just feel like I’ve completely dissolved into what and how much I can provide. 🤷♀️ submitted by /u/Tropichana [link] [comments]”
“Is parenting essentially “just doing the thing” while your kid screams their displeasure in your face a thousand times a day? Whenever I share that I’m having difficulties with my son (18months) with this or that transition, the advice is always “just do it”. Just put him in his high chair, just change his diaper, just put his T-shirt on. And like, sure, I do that. He screams his head off the whole time but we still do the thing. I do give warnings about what’s about to happen so it doesn’t come”
“Looking for advice from my fellow Dads in what my wife and I can do here. We have a 4 year old boy and a 2 year old girl. My wife and I are totally out of ideas what we can do on their level of crying and screaming nonstop. I wake up in the morning to screaming and crying that they want to get out of their room. We do and then go downstairs to either our dogs being in the room doing absolutely nothing beyond they’re in the room (yes, that will start crying and yelling that they don’t like this),”
“Maybe that’s dramatic, but we are at a point where our 2 yr old (F) and 4 yr old (M) are just constantly crying and screaming about something. The morning kicks off at 6 am where we’re walking on eggshells trying not to piss them off somehow. Inevitably we say no to something (like cookies for breakfast) or something doesn’t go just right and it’s a melt down. The walk to daycare is hit or miss,but post daycare…POST DAYCARE is on an entirely other level. If you don’t feed these gremlins immediat”
“The constant tantrums. How are you holding up? Any tips? submitted by /u/Late_Organization277 [link] [comments]”
“Hey guys, I am a dad to a 3 year old and a 1.5 year old. I am going through a lot of changes at work right now, and have been incredibly stressed and exhausted, so much so I am thinking of leaving this career that I have done for 20 years to start over, and that feels overwhelming financially and mentally. Money is already tight, but we’re doing ok. My wife works a lot as well, and we don’t get a lot of time together at home. So when I get home from work I’m a solo dad every night, wife takes th”
“My wife (on mat leave) is extremely impatient with our little one at home who is 14 months old now. She is always grunting, occasionally screaming, throwing objects around the house, and yells at our daughter if she's crying. At times, I do want to start an argument over where she says a lot of "mean" things, for which my wife brushes off as something that is not as significant. A bit of context: I am 100% WFH. Unfortunately I am either in back-to-back meetings and/or got something”
“I know she’s a baby. But the tantrums are next level. She also bites herself when she’s angry. Also tries to bite us. I do the redirection, put her down if I’m holding her and she bites. Don’t make a big show of it just no we don’t bite and down. And I just fee at my wits end about. submitted by /u/Awkward_Button6290 [link] [comments]”
“I have two toddlers who are now 3 and 5 and I had honestly expected the stress associated with kids to have gone down by now. My children are still very much “in to” their mummy and daddy and want us to play with them and do things with them all the time. I’m just exhausted all the time. I just want to do the laundry and dishes in peace. I have become very sensitive to noise and I find them extremely loud. I’m having other symptoms of stress as well with being forgetful and have a hard time focu”
“My wife and I are blessed with a wonderful 15 month old girl and 3.5 year old boy. They are genuinely sweet and hilarious. But we are so fried and overstimulated all day every day. Genuinely when does parenting stop being such a constant 24/7/365 situation? I feel so bad that I often and too mentally worn out to be able to play with them more. But even we’re just doing “nothing,” my wife and I still need to be on full alert at all times. And that is so draining submitted by /u/crindl”
“I am so tired of getting in trouble for getting angry. I am not going to pretend I am the perfect parent or that I always wait the "appropriate" amount of time to get angry. Sometimes I am reactive just like anyone else can be. I try my best though to go through all the proper steps when my 5 year old is being obstinate. I think part of the problem is that I am a pushover, and part of the reason that I am a pushover is that my child's mother undercuts me when I try to set boundarie”
“Hi everyone, I've been married for 4 years, together for 8 and we have a pretty good marriage most of the time (both 34). We have a 2 year old son as well. I'm a teacher in the UK and have been teaching for 13 years now. For the last 4 years I've been a Head of Year Group in my school which means I am responsible for the pastoral welfare of about 80 kids every year as well as the teaching side of things. For the first few years of the role I found it stressful but as I wasn't a p”