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What are the dangers of children's tantrums?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Frequent tantrums and outbursts of anger in young children can be the first signs of health problems. But how can you tell if these are just normal childhood tantrums or signs of a serious problem?
Typically, children's tantrums are accompanied by a strong emotional outburst, fits of rage, reinforced by anger, aggression and rage.
New research results from specialists at the Northwestern Medical Center have made it possible to develop a method for recognizing the nature of children's tantrums.
To understand the child's condition, scientists have prepared a special questionnaire that can be used to distinguish the manifestation of wayward behavior typical of young children and to identify signs of disorders that pose a risk to the child's health. This will help parents and specialists correctly identify the problem and choose the right ways to eliminate it.
Although capricious behavior in young children is not uncommon, experts have found that less than 10% of children engage in persistent aggression on a daily basis. This pattern of child behavior is common to all ethnic groups and social strata.
"These findings may provide insight into the nature and behavior of young children," says Lauren Voxschlag, a professor at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Psychology.
Quite recently, to identify the causes of inappropriate behavior in preschoolers, specialists used the model of aggressive behavior in adolescents as a basis, but later it turned out that this method is not suitable for younger children, because the nature of their manifestation of aggression has significant differences.
In a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, researchers surveyed 1,500 families with young children aged three to five. The questions were designed to capture the frequency, nature, and duration of children's tantrums over the past month.
The results obtained allowed specialists to focus on the manifestations of atypical behavior in children. Experts found that outbursts of aggression can occur suddenly and without reason. Some children experience this from time to time, while others have regular tantrums.
The ability to promptly identify the problem will allow specialists to intervene and eradicate it at an early stage of development before it worsens and becomes irreversible. Aggression and anger can be caused by increased excitability of the baby's nervous system, neurological disorders, poor health, fatigue and a number of other reasons.
For parents, this should be the first warning sign of health problems in the child. There is no need to rush and take educational measures, because in this way the child can signal serious health problems. These hysterical fits cannot be ignored, otherwise the child's nervous system will suffer, which can lead to psychogenic changes.