I completely agree. Some of us don't learn these things till our kids are grown, and some never learn!

I hope your son is better now. An ear infection in an infant is one of the most painful things imaginable- and remember he cannot explain his pain!

Parenting - no-one can write a book that will answer all our questions, so sometimes sharing experiences is good.

You described his tantrums. He may not be able to speak but he is actually learning to control your reactions using his non-verbal skills. If you let him, he will conrol your every moment and reaction. You must be THE one in charge - and although it breaks your heart you need to let him know that crying isn't going to get him everything. Let him scream - if he wants - he'll get tired after a while and fall asleep. I used to allow my youngest to do just that - and when he calmed down I would pick him up and soothe him, give him a little water to drink and gently talk to him. But he didn't always get his way (sometimes I let him win!) smile. Good Luck.

As I have one Aries and one Leo, I preferred, for my boys, what worked best for me:

Ignoring direction = Small hedge-bush switch applied liberally to the bare legs. When I was a toddler, I think the ones they used were about 1.5 ft and pretty flimsy, but, hey, it's the thought that counts. It only takes once or twice to get their attention.


As a result, throughout their 16 & 17 years, I've rarely found it necessary to administer corporal punishment, and not once in the last 5 years.
Of course, when they reached about 14, I had to go buy boxing gloves. I've never had to put mine on (only mention that they're hanging by the back door), but they've certainly used theirs.


I completely agree with all of the tantrum treatments posted so far. I either removed them (in public), ignored them (in private), or started singing Old MacDonald, or something of the like, being especially careful to harmonize with the howling.

looks like hes coming up to terrible twos to me..hes just testing the water with you..seeing how far he can push..also hes still young so hes still learning boundaries and right and wrong..just keep saying no and its a good age to start time out hun

It takes time. Lots and Lots of time and patience. And this is from the mother of 6.

thats very young.i'm thinking try out a few things ,time out,a reward symtem for good behavior its all trial and error.you must know his fav things got to use those things.i always used a counting system 1 2 3 if i get to 3 and the behavior is still happening corner time or time out