1.  A child is screaming, crying, hitting, whining, complaining, or attempting to run away.
2. Older children - yelling, name-calling, or slamming doors
   • Older students have more practice and will hold out for longer periods of time
   • Can be destructive and dangerous
3. Frustrating and sometimes embarrassing to adult when child acts out in this way
   • Be patient
   • Be controlled
   • Be compassionate
   • Don’t take it personally and,
   • Be the adult

1. Express frustration
   • activity or toy
   • over another person
   • memory of experience
   • need help or want something but unable to express themself
2. Obtain tangible items
   • Not getting what they want
   • Candy, pencil, etc.
3. Demand attention
   • Want teachers attention good or bad
   • Need help
4. Delay or avoid the unpleasant experience
   • End of a game
   • Put incomplete assignment away for later
   • Transition to unliked activity or subject

1. Tend to occur when children lack routines
   • Children need schedules to follow
     • Consistent schedules allow children to expect changes in their environment
     • Ability to adjust their behavior without a tantrum
   • This does not mean that children require rigid routines
   • They need to recognize things occur at the same time each day and roughly in the same sequence
2. When they are expected to change an activity without warning
   • Prompts and transitions are necessary
   • Give reminders before movement or changes in subjects
   • Alerting children will allow them to begin to finish an assignment both mentally and physically
   • Wrap-it-up with timers, 5-minute warnings, 2-minute warnings
3. When lacking the skills needed to meet teacher expectation
   • Teach the skill needed before expecting the child to perform that skill
     • Model it
     • Practice it
     • Repeat and reinforce
   • Unable to assemble a puzzle, complete activity, solve the problem
     • Tantrum is their way of asking for help
   • Consider modifying a task for successful completion
     • Easier puzzles, tasks, problems, etc.
   • Teaching social skills that promote coping skills
4. Coping Skills
   • Teach children how to deal with their frustration
     • Teach children how to say and what to say
       • “This is really difficult and I am getting frustrated.”
       • “Can you show me what to do?”
       • “I need help?”
     • The teacher must monitor students during times that elicit or provoke tantrums
     • Reinforce the positive behaviors
   • Giving choices between two equally allowable activities may result in fewer tantrums
     • Students are learning decision-making skills

1. What NOT to do
   • Two cardinal do-nots
     • Do not try to reason with the child, get the child to see the error of his or her ways, or coax the child into good behavior
     • Do not give the child what he or she wants or allow the child to escape or avoid what he or she does not want
   • Violating the first rule will worsen the tantrum and violating the second doubles the reinforcing power of the tantrum. It teaches the child that a tantrum is an effective way to get what he/she wants.
2. What are your options when the tantrum occurs
   • Ignore
     • The best to use if possible
     • Does not allow the child to
       • Obtain anything he or she may be seeking
       • Get anything he or she may not want to avoid
       • If the teacher has instructed children to sit on the carpet, do not allow misbehavior to result in avoidance of carpet time
   • Differential reinforcement
     • Pay attention to the child when not having it a tantrum (for example, when the child is complying with requests or working/playing quietly) and minimize attention when the child is having a tantrum
     • It is better to head off a tantrum before it starts by redirecting and reinforcing appropriate/positive behavior
     • removing a child from an environment before the tantrum begins
       • This may also reinforce a tantrum by saving the teacher from embarrassment and the child may catch onto the procedure
   • Brief time out
     • This is hopeful for a teacher who wants a bit more time in intervening with tantrums
       • As soon as the tantrum begins, tell the child, “No ______ (crying, whining, screaming, kicking). Go to time-out”.
       • Escort the child to the timeout location with no further explanation or interaction during the whole timeout.
       • After the child has been quiet for 15 to 20 seconds, say “Now that you are being quiet, time out is over.”
       • It's important for the child to become quiet in time out so the procedure can be used with minimal disruption.
       • It is also important to remember that a command or direction was likely causing the tantrum, the teacher should reissue the command when the timeout is over so that the child does not learn that timeout is an escape.
       • The sequence should be repeated until the child complies with the request

1. Following a temper tantrum
   • do not discuss the tantrum or admonish the child
   • make sure to reinforce any appropriate behaviors with brief periods (about 3 to 5 seconds) of attention
   • It is reasonable to assist children and to teach them new skills after a tantrum

• If the strategies do not seem to be working and there is an increase in the intensity, frequency, or duration of a tantrum the teacher should reach out to the administration
• If the child starts to exhibit self-harming behaviors or becomes destructive or puts others or property in danger notify the administration
• For older children refer to administration if the child seems excessively moody, withdrawn or depressed

• It is not uncommon for children with disabilities such as Autism, Asperger Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), among others to continue to have temper tantrums in later childhood
• Many of the same techniques previously described can be successful in working with children with disabilities
• Techniques that focus on reinforcement and skill enhancement are important for students with disabilities

Helping Children Understand Routines and Classroom Schedules: What works brief series. by M. Ostrosky, M. Hemmeter , and D. Thomas. Available: vanderbilt.edu/csefel/briefs slash wwb3.pdf

Temper Tantrums: Guidelines for Parents and Teachers. By Steuart Watson, Tonya Watson, and Sarah Gebhardt