ABSTRACT
Tantrums are little explosions of uncontrolled emotion. Tantrums in young children are part of normal development and reflect a maturing brain. Screaming, kicking, hitting and stiffening are considered to be high intensity emotion. Showing emotional warmth allows children to relax in the knowledge that their needs will be met. Emotional warmth and love is the defining feature of our relationship with our children. Being soft on poor behaviour one day and hard the next is confusing for children. Many parents share in the emotions experienced by their child. Empathy is the ability to recognise and share the feelings of others. Parental empathy and related characteristics such as sympathy, understanding, acceptance, as well as general sensitivity, are thought to be strongly beneficial to a child's social and emotional development. For most children, praising the good and ignoring the bad will not be an adequate strategy for achieving socially desirable behaviour.
