My son is almost 4 years old and he still throws tantrums, crying and screaming hysterically when he doesnt get what he wants or is made to wait for something. Is this normal at his age? How do i make him learn to wait?

Perhaps you can try teaching the two very useful and important life skills, patience and delayed gratification, to your child. Here are two articles which I think are quite useful: http://www.scarymommy.com/5-tips-for-teaching-patience/ http://afineparent.com/emotional-intelligence/delayed-gratification.html The main takeaway I’ve gotten from the two articles is none other than being a role model to your child. No doubt it will be challenging because parents will usually have to nag at their children to get things done. However, there are useful tips suggested in the articles to help a child pick up these valuable skills. I particularly liked the suggestion of having a “planting project” to help teach your child patience. It is both fun and interesting for the child. Another tip I think would be useful is to use distraction in teaching delay gratification. Distract your child with other activities or his/her surroundings when he/she is having a meltdown about not getting something. Every child is different and it will take a lot of patience (no pun intended) to teach them these skills. Hope you find these tips useful! Good luck!

i think you have to establish some ground rules here with your little one. Your child will now learn about the meaning of discipline and self-restraint. this is also the time when he will start experiencing and expressing a lot of emotions. it is fine when he throws a tantrum, but you will have to ignore him and be patient, and not react by shouting or losing your cool. it will only make him react more. let him do whatever he does and do not pay any notice. when he is done, ask him to stay in his room for some time, and then talk to you when he is fine again. tell him mamma will listen to you but you come to me when you have finished shouting so that i can understand what you are saying. when he comes to you, welcome him with a hug so that he knows you love him. tell him that it is not nice to shout or throw things, and ask him what the matter is. gradually your baby will realize how to get his expressions more sorted and how to communicate better. do not give in to the tantrums

Kids have meltdowns and temper tantrums for two reasons. The first reason is that they have never learned how to manage or have run out of the tools it takes to manage their feelings in a new situation or event. The second reason they have tantrums is because it’s been successful for them in the past. They’ve seen that when they have a tantrum, they get what they want pretty quickly. It’s all about learning and developing coping skills from day one with children. Here’s why. If a child is confronted with a situation that he hasn’t learned how to manage yet, his response is fight or flight. It’s a survival response. Very often, they can’t get out of the situation. It may be at the mall, in the car or at grandma’s house. If they can’t flee the situation, then they fight, and the way that they fight is by acting out or having a meltdown.

Make a game out of it -- ask your child to count to a certain number (depending on how far he can count) while you complete the task at hand. This will distract him and help him improve his counting skills. My friend uses this method to teach her daughter to be patient when she is hungry. Sometimes, she will ask her little girl to sing along with her as she goes about preparing her milk or juice.

Yes it's perfectly normal for his age. They are at a age of expressing themselves yet they still don't understand time management or patience or rejection. Take a deep breath and slowly talk and explain to him. It takes multiple times and effort but it will work out one day