I have been reading that some tantrums are caused by not bein able to express them selves, you dident say how much he was talking but maybe star with baby sigh language. Apparently its never to late to start and you also talk to them while signing so untill they learn to get there mouthes around the words then they can still express what they want to get across to you!

My daughter is only 4 months but i want to start signing soon and hopefully reduse the tantrums! hehe well hope anyway

Good luck

i just recently was told by a widewife that the reason boys are SO much worse durin terribles twos is because they have as much testosterone in their lil bodies as a teenage boy!!!  (apparently it slowly decresses in amount when they are about 5ish )

and with all that goin on its no wonder they act the way they do, and they also just havent learnt how to control their tempers and stuff

so maybe just keep that in mind as it must be very confusin to them to feel so cranky and stuff and not know how to vent!

but anyway good luck and just so u know my son is goin through it aswell (he started very early like 1ish so i called it the ominous ones lol  )not much fun but i'm releved 2 know what causes it now

take care xoxo

My eldest son is now 28 months and is only now throwing tantrums every now and then. How he stopped is all thanks to my father with a really scary voice one day at his house said "Right that is enough Pop is going to put you down the back in the shed" and when my son said "No" he told him to sit in the chair next to him untill he calms down. Like magic I was given an answer and when he would play up when pop was not around I told him I was going to ring pop and pop will put him in the shed and he says no and stops straight away. You might think that it is a little scary but my Son and my Dad have a great relationship because he knows that when he is well behaved Pop will give him lollies and he can "help" pop work. He is also now "Pops mate" and they do wees on the grass together as he is toilet training. What I am trying to say maybe your Husband could try being a bit more grouchy just so he knows his behaviour is unacceptable. good luck!

You have all my sympathy. The good news is that most toddlers tantrums go thru peaks and troughs, so hopefully this is a peak and he wont keep it up for all that long, though the trough may still be one tantrum a day and there may be another peak along shortly. The really bad news is that my DD1 followed her Terrible Twos (18 months - 30 months) with the Trying Threes (30 - 45 months - like the 2s except now they are more verbal and calculating). Some children dont keep it up for long, but mine did, and how! I could only cope because a supportive DH, and by chosing my battles carefully (all those things I was never going to do as a parent had to be re-evaluated into "worth it" and "not worth it") and then winning them decisively. Some days it felt like she was battling me more every waking minute, so I learned to sidestep the minor battles and to save emotional energy for the important things. I could see a battle coming from a mile off mostly, and so I developed a whole raft of evasive techniques. I make myself laugh now when I instinctively try to use them on my 26 month old DD2 and find I dont always need to! It's so bewildering - I just KNEW DD1 would NEVER back down on these things until one day when she was approaching 4 I realised the tantrums had dwindled to almost nothing and I was really enjoying being her mum. But with hindsight, they had tailed off for months. In fact, with the Trying Threes, she chose her battles more carefully too, so there were fewer of them. These tantrums vary as their obsessions change. So IMO just try to take one day at a time, except when you need to steel your resolve, when you can remind yourself that winning a battle against a 2 year old is far easier than leaving it til later and having an ill-disciplined teen!

When it comes to your parents, time out is vital for YOUR well being, and he may well behave differently for them. So if they're prepared for the challenge, I'd risk a short time away.

Have you tried fridge locks yet? I just googled and found one that may fit a dishwasher too. Worth a try. He'll lose interest eventually, or you may be able to diffuse his interest by allowing him to help you unload the dishwasher of certain safer items?

Good luck!