DD could throw some
epic tantrums when she was little. She always seemed to save them for home, though-- so that made things easier for us.
Our solution was to point out to her that her nonlinear, hairy CAT FIT... was basically punishing
everyone for something that was, really, just HER problem.
Ergo, emotional upsets require a 'reset' period. ALONE. Because other people don't deserve to be punished by this kind of behavior. It's rude. I don't know if this would work for most kids, but that explanation certainly worked wonders for our DD. She's so socially attuned to appropriate behavior, though, that this was a good lever to change the behavior.
She got put into her bed when she did this. To rest, to relax, to think it over... and as often as not, to cry it out and cry herself to sleep. It wasn't "punishment" so much as a cooling off period. I never actually labeled it "so Mommy doesn't go postal at you" time... but... er...
Yeah. That, too.
