Child screams when angry...

[MommyofHero]

My 2 1/2 yr old DD screams repeatedly at the top of her lungs when she is angry/frustrated. I'm not sure what to do about this, if anything... I know she gets overwhelmed with emotion and has to vent her anger somehow, and the screaming isn't necessarily hurting anyone (except my ears), and I know that primal screaming is actually healthy for people (hence the invention of roller coasters and whatnot-- lol!), and I also know it's pretty natural and not a learned behavior since her parents don't scream. I'm just not sure what my reaction should be. Thoughts?

[averieella]

I have no advice, but my 2 and 1/2 yr old does the same thing!  I'll be watching this thread in hopes of some advice too!

[anjsmama]

My 2.5 year old screams less the less I try to intervene. When he gets upset and starts screaming, I just watch him. It seems the watching him (and lack of any verbal or physical response) intrigues him, and he just stops and talks to me instead.  I have often tried to stop him (since I have an 11 week old DD & it always seems to be when she's napping!)... but have found this just has the opposite effect. After he stops screaming, I ask him what he's feeling and he's starting to get pretty good at a label - "mad", "sad", "sleepy", etc. Then I ask him about what & we can usually get it figured out. A few months ago I never would have believed this possible. But the less intervention I have done with DS in general the quieter my house seems to be. A lot of the screaming at this age is 1) to get it out and 2) to see what you'll do... so try not to do much! :) 

[mamazee]

I agree with the pp about labeling emotions. They're still learning about emotions and helping him learn to describe them should help him handle them without feeling a need to scream.