Children who throw long, aggressive or frequent tantrums may be doing more than just showing mum and dad who is boss. They may be displaying early signs of a psychiatric disorder, a study says.

Tantrums are common among young children and are often a sign of hunger, illness or overstimulation, says a study by Washington University in St Louis.

But children who hurt themselves or others while throwing tantrums or who cannot calm themselves down may be diagnosed with depression or disruptive disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or oppositional defiant disorder.

“I think parents to some degree should expect their children to have tantrums,” said the study’s lead author, Andy Belden, from the university’s medical school. “If they are having extreme tantrums consistently [and] if almost every time they are having a tantrum they are hurting themselves or other people, that is a valid reason to go and talk to your pediatrician.” (…)

The team devised five high-risk tantrum styles that could be associated with the development of psychiatric disorder. They included tantrums marked by: self-injury; violence towards others or objects; an inability to be calmed without help; a duration of more than 25 minutes; and a frequency of more than five times a day, or between 10 and 20 times a month.

Any of these behaviours would warrant a call to the doctor, Dr Belden said. Behaviour during a tantrum was only an indicator and did not necessarily prove the existence of a psychiatric disorder.

Source: The Age, Australia
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