The Worst Tantrum a Toddler Can Throw? An iPaddy

 

Toddlers are amazing at lots of things – identifying colours (“red bus!”), counting to ten (mine can count to 15 and then it all goes wrong by way of 18 then 16 then 20), and reciting episodes of Peppa Pig (“Zuzu and Zaza crying!” – ten points to you if you know which episode that’s from).

But one thing they are super duper amazing at? Throwing a tantrum. They kick, they scream, they throw themselves to the ground, they lash out, they cry. Experts say it’s because they want to express themselves badly, but can sometimes can’t find the right words. The handy monthly email I got from Babycentre this month said, “At this age she’s still prone to a fair amount of pushing, yelling and throwing tantrums at the drop of a hat. When she’s upset, you can remind her that talking gets better results than yelling. Remember to praise her when she makes an effort to communicate with words.”

Which is all totally true, but sometimes it’s just because they want to do something and you’re saying NO. Which brings me to the phenomenon that is… the iPaddy.

iPaddy n. | iˈpædi |

• an uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration, typically in a young child, when a tablet is removed from their possession

This new generation of children will never know a world without touchscreen tablets. Our two-year-old’s first sentence each morning is usually either “Milk please Daddy” or “iPad! iPad! Please!” (I’m not even joking.) We regularly correct her when she says “My iPad” so when we try to take the iPad away from her (you know, at bedtime, mealtimes or bathtime), she has been known to throw an almighty iPaddy. Worse than a regular tantrum, because a toddler values the iPad so dearly, an iPaddy can have even the toughest parent quiver in their boots.

Recently, however, our toddler has worked out that throwing an iPaddy usually gets her nowhere fast. These days, she’s more likely to cover the off-switch with her hand and just smile one almighty cheeky smile at me. She’s not daft…

PSST! If you enjoy my blog, you might want to nominate me for a MAD Blog Award. ‘What the jiggins is a MAD Blog Award?’ you might ask. Now in its fourth year, the MAD Blog Awards are one of the UK’s biggest awards for mum and dad bloggers, celebrating the talent and dedication of parent bloggers. Nominations are being accepted until February 18th and you can nominate me over here on the MADs website. If I win I’ll buy you a wine.