Terminating Toddler Tantrums

Sitting at an open cafe in a busy mall, I couldn’t help but hear the screams of the three-year old on the next table. The mother of the child looked around discreetly and spoke in a soft voice to her wailing daughter. Her words had no apparent effect and the child threw herself down on the floor, legs kicking the air, yelling even louder. A couple of aunties on another table shook their heads and tut-tutted. The waiters looked uncomfortable. The poor mother looked horribly embarrassed. She hurriedly paid her bill, tucked her still-crying daughter under her arm, and walked off towards the elevators. The scene sounds familiar, doesn’t it? How many of us have been caught in similar situations, with our little ones screaming murder and refusing to listen to reason? When my daughter used to have a tantrum, I would question