The J Nielson Network

We just enrolled Connor in a study at Utah State University for children between the ages of 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 for controlling temper tantrums. We were able to sit through 2 hours of observation, play, development level testing and clean up. All the while, they were video tapping us and his reactions. I was a little embarrasses when the tester came back into the room and let us know that he qualified for the study Beautifully!! You should have seen that kid cut loose, hitting, kicking, screaming, biting, smacking his mother. I couldn't blame him too much. One of the observation tests were to let him play with all the toys on the floor but not anything else in the room. Not the play dough and dinosaurs on the table, not the bowl of M & M's on the bookshelf, not the kite hanging low from the ceiling, or the blocks and balls in the cubbies. What torture! I was trying not to laugh the whole time. I even spoke into the camera a few times letting them know that I was sure they were getting their "money's" worth from this kid. The study is a 6 month graduate level thesis project, trying to teach parents better parenting strategies for dealing with non-compliance. I am kind of excited to see if this can help us nip this behavior in the bud. I can't remember what I did last time, so the parenting refresher class will be great.