With his red face, he holds his breath and cries as if the world will soon end. Our (mine and my husband's) reactions vary, depending on where we are. Sometimes, we fight the urge to laugh. Other times, we have OMG written all over our faces.

Our solutions vary, as well. We've found ourselves placating or distracting him. We've also been known to sometimes "let him win". And, yes, we have also tried reasoning with him.

Thank God, our son's temper tantrums are predictable. It only happens whenever he misses his afternoon nap, he is tired/sleepy and/or he feels frustrated.

I guess, it is important to understand why kids throw temper tantrums and what we, parents, can try to do when faced with a seemingly unreasonable child.

Tantrums are common (as if we all didn't know that) despite the fact that some moms say "my child never ever throws a tantrum". Here are a few examples of moms handling temper tantrums:

Read about the Sarcastic Journalist's crazy day as she tries to leave the house with a baby and a toddler (who also decided to throw a tantrum).

Sgt. Mom over at the Daily Brief has some interesting insights about children behaving badly in public. She compares reactions of people based on her own, as the parent, as the onlooker and as the proprietor of the place/shop where the tantrum is taking place. Very interesting.

What is your trick? How do you react when your child throws a tantrum in public?