Know How to Deal with and Prevent Tantrums in Children

"Children will show aggressive behavior as a result of frustration and anger responses. Tantrums are actually normal development in children, but can also become abnormal," he said in a virtual media seminar in Jakarta on Tuesday (23/4/2024).

The duration of playing with devices has a significant relationship with emotional tantrums in toddlers.

Generally, tantrums occur in children aged between 18 months and 4 years old. The intensity of tantrums will increase in children under 4 years old. However, the intensity of tantrums will decrease as the child gets older.

According to Trisna, tantrums can become abnormal if they continue until the child reaches adolescence, so parents need to intervene to prevent that from happening. The first thing that needs to be done is to understand the child's social or emotional development from one month of age until they reach six years old.

When parents or caregivers are aware of a child’s social and emotional development, they can understand the causes of tantrums. The most common cause of tantrums in children is related to physiological conditions such as fatigue, hunger, boredom, and frustration. Tantrums can also occur due to health issues that the child may be experiencing.

In addition, tantrums can also occur when a child wants or refuses something, seeks attention from their parents, or experiences sudden changes in activity. Other aspects can be related to parental upbringing patterns that are often authoritarian, permissive, attached, and consistently make inconsistent rules.

As for the signs and symptoms of tantrums, usually the child will first shout if they want to do an activity but it is prohibited by their parents. After that, the child will have a physical reaction, such as rolling around or throwing objects. Finally, the child will cry and whine due to exhaustion after all those physical reactions.

Also read: ”Parental Burnout”, When Being a Parent is So Exhausting

"From these tantrum symptoms, around 86 percent of children will cry, 40 percent will scream, and 13 percent will whine. If severe tantrums are detected with frequent and prolonged intensity, they can become indicators of internalization or externalization disorders," he said.

When a child experiences a tantrum, parents or caregivers need to remain calm and avoid being provoked by the child's behavior. Parents can also temporarily ignore the tantrum behavior and try to divert the child's attention. When the child has calmed down, parents can provide understanding through effective communication.

The impact of devices

Efforts by parents and caregivers to prevent tantrums can also be done by reducing or limiting children's use of devices. This is because the results of a study conducted by Neng Kurniati from Bengkulu University published in the 2023 Volume of the Eduhealth Journal show that the duration of children using devices is related to the occurrence of tantrum behavior.

A study conducted in May 2022 in 30 districts in Bengkulu City involved 166 children under the age of five (toddlers). Based on the data collected, 56 toddlers (33.7 percent) were recorded to play with gadgets for 20 minutes per day, while the other 110 toddlers (66.3 percent) played with gadgets for more than 20 minutes every day.

From the study's results, 108 toddlers or about 65.1 percent of children who are exposed to gadgets for more than 20 minutes every day experience tantrums. Meanwhile, the number of children who do not experience tantrums is 58 toddlers or 34.9 percent.

Also read: Preventing Device Addiction in Children

"The duration of playing with electronic devices has a significant correlation with emotional temper tantrums in toddlers. The Odd Ratio value shows that the risk of emotional temper tantrums in toddlers increases by 0.375 times for those who play with electronic devices for more than 20 minutes," wrote Kurniati in the journal.

Excessive exposure to electronic devices can also alter behavior and cause problems with concentration, which can lead to damage to the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is a part of the brain that regulates executive functions, such as planning, decision-making, problem-solving, self-control, remembering instructions, and weighing consequences.