I'll respond to the original post and stop reading all the other responses. I could end up irrate.
I've seen lots of kids throw tantrums in WDW. My favorite was the time we watched a screaming little girl running and dodging her parents in a store. It was almost like watching a Tom & Jerry cartoon. Our boys have had their little squabbles at WDW but never tantrums because we didn't take them until they were 6 & 7 years old.
Hubby has had a few embarrassing meltdowns in WDW. Pretty surprised I've never read any eyewitness accounts of his antics on these forums. It really es me off when he did that stuff because, to me, he's acting like a child. Unfortunately, I can't smack the stupid out of him. LOL! Once he had the kids in tears as he was on the phone while walking thru DAK talking with the airline trying to change return flights home to that same day. Another time he actually returned to the resort and packed his stuff to go home because according to him he would rather be at work at that moment. Again, upset the kids pretty bad. I was boiling mad resisiting the urge to smack him for making my babies cry. LOL! Common denominator: hot, annoying crowds, and hungry. Never a good combination.
Typically if I see little kids throwing tantrums I take pity on the parents to an extent. Unless they aren't being proactive in dealing with the situation. But then as parents we don't always know what to do and embarrassing tantrums can be overwhelming enough that it's hard to think straight in the moment.
I would like to point out that not all kids throw tantrums. If yours didn't then thank your lucky stars. And don't have anymore kids if you just announced that your children never did and you would never put up with such. That's a curse. Don't even think it. As soon as you say or even think "not mine" or "not me" you've sealed your fate. TRUST ME. For some kiddos it's just something they go thru. It's not always indicative of lack of parenting, effort on the parents' behalf, or anything like that. It's a personality thing sometimes. Wanna know how I know??? My oldest nephew thru terrible tantrums when he was a toddler. I, of course, swore I'd never have a kid like that. Guess what my oldest son did when he was a toddler? He threw temper tantrums. God has a wonderful sense of humor, doesn't he?
I got pregnant with my 2nd son when my oldest was not quite a year old. So, by the time he was about 18 months...you know, around that magical time when the little darlings develop opinions...I was already pretty big and pregnant. ((I had pretty large babies.
)) Anywhoo, so I'm already a mess of hormones. I had never been around small children or babies when I was growing up so my first son truly was a learning experience from the get-go. And believe me, the thing I've always wanted more than anything else in this world is to be the best mom possible and do things right for my children. So the tantrums started. Very unpretty. Typically my darling little redheaded toddler would stiffen up his entire body, throw himself straight backwards, and scream like you wouldn't believe. He was a punisher, that's for sure. It was brutal. The first time it happened we were in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The kid literally bounced his head off the pavement. I thought for sure he would've split it open. Nope. It scared me. At that moment I just wanted him to stop. For the first little while of these episodes it was about how to get him to stop. Then we focused on how to avoid them. Then we progressed to what triggered the behavior and what we could do about it. The tantrums ended when I became angry enough to decide that I'd die before he got what he wanted during the tantrum.
I remember the final 3 tantrums like they were yesterday:
Second son was still a small infant. We were with my mother-in-law walking thru an outlet center that we stopped at during a long drive. We had only stopped to run into 1 store for a few minutes so I didn't bother with the stroller. We parked right by the door. So, we're walking on the sidewalk, I've got baby in my left arm, and holding toddler's hand with my right hand. Toddler decides it's time to flip out over something, no idea what. I'm trying to drag him along with just 1 hand. That didn't work very well. Finally the kid is on the pavement screaming like an animal. I was boiling mad. I couldn't put the baby down. I had 1 hand. So, I reached down, took a fist full of the kiddo's hair, stood him up, and we walked. Guess what? We didn't get 3 steps and the screaming had ceased.
Next, maybe a week later, we were at a mall in New Orleans. My MiL had the baby in a stroller. I had toddler in another stroller. Toddler didn't want to be in a stroller. He screamed thru 1 store. He kept twisting himself around, kicking like crazy, trying to escape the safety strap. I sent MiL ahead to her next destination while I sat in the middle of the mall on a bench and waited. Every time my flailing, screaming Houdini started to get loose I'd straighten his body and tighten the strap again so he couldn't get free. I was surprised the stroller held up to the brutal punishing it got from him. During all this 2 little old ladies came over to me, patted my shoulder, and told me to hang in there. I'd say it was about 10 - 15 minutes of this fight and he stopped. Once he stopped I wiped his sweaty face with a damp cloth and met back up with my MiL to get the kiddo some cool water to drink.
Final straw was the showdown. It's known as "The Showdown" in family history for a reason.
Everyone in the house had been sick with cold/flu symptoms. I didn't feel so hot but we needed more meds. I left DH home with the baby while I ran out with the toddler to get supplies. I had the kiddo in the shopping cart basket walking thru Walmart. As soon as I crossed the threshold into the store the kiddo turned demon wanting out. Not an option. He kicked and he screamed. People came over from other aisles to see what was going on. He sounded like he was taking the shopping cart appart. Not kidding. I just kept moving, grabbed everything I needed, and maintained a smile. As soon as we crossed the threshold outside the store he stopped. That fast. Not before. And this is where I had my moment of clarity. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that when in the store when others were around his tantrum got max effect. I was spitting mad. On the way home I said a few times, "I hope you had fun. My fun is coming." Hubby describes my return home like I was some wild west gunslinger. I opened the front door. Toddler entered ahead of me. I walked in looking like the pooh is about to hit the fan. Hubby still says he knew instantly what had happened. I got as far as the kitchen, drop the shopping bags I held in each hand, and sneared, "It's Momma's fun time now." I scooped that kid up and wore his butt out. The whole time hubby stood there speechless. When I finished he handed the kid his pacifier and told him to go to his bed. ((Yeah, he'd go if you told him to go there.)) After about 5 minutes I went to the kiddo's room, asked him if he knew what he did wrong, and he answered, "Yes, I frow'd a fit." And that was the end of tantrums.
Looking back the fits began because he was frustrated. He knew what he wanted but couldn't verbalize it. The fits continued because they got him results. They slowed when he stopped getting what he wanted and stopped when he learned he was going to get himself in big trouble for behaving that way. We always had the best intentions with him. We always did the best we could in the moment. So, yeah, I take some amount of pity on parents who have tantrum-throwers for kids. Not so much when it's the parents throwing the tantrums. LOL!
Thankfully, our 2nd son never threw fits. The 3 of us (yes, oldest son included) always just knew what the little guy was wanting so he never had that frustration. He was way more mellow in personality as well. It never was a problem with him the way it was the oldest.
