Tantrum taming

Solutions for taming a toddler

Dr. Karp, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles, is best known for his book, The Happiest Baby.

Now he is focusing on turning tantrum-prone toddlers into easy to manage human beings with his latest work, The Happiest Toddler.

Toddlerdom is an "explosive period of development when children learn language, motor skills and problem solving, among other things", reports The New York Times. And this is the major cause of frustration for a growing brain, resulting in a tantrum.

"The challenge for parents is learning how to communicate with the caveman in the crib. “All of us get more primitive when we get upset, that’s why they call it ‘going ape,’ ” Dr. Karp says. “But toddlers start out primitive, so when they get upset, they go Jurassic on you.”