Jack has definitely got a mind of his own these days. For example, if I say “Time for a diaper change!” and reach down to pick him up to take him upstairs, he’ll go limp so it’s harder to pick him up. If I take him away from something he was enjoying, such a trying to get in the cat bed to sit on Jemba’s head, or putting toys into the diaper pail, he will sometimes start up with angry crying until I get him interested in something else.
Today I was playing with him in the family room (which we have gated off) and I got up to go to the kitchen to put dinner in the oven. As I was leaving he fell to his knees and let out an ear-piercing, sustained shriek, as if the world had ended. He kept it up til I’d put it in the oven and returned, then hugged me a long time. I could tell he was a little fragile before that; he was trying to pet Jemba, who was on the couch, but could not quite reach him. He was getting quite frustrated, and finally started crying, and turned to walk towards me, his arms open for a hug. Unfortunately for him, there were many toys on the floor in the way, and it turned into a bit of a pathetic comedy: “Watch out for the bus!” *crash* He got up, resumed his sobbing staggering.. “Watch out for that cup!” *crash* etc. Poor guy.
I don’t know if these things count as tantrums or not. What’s the difference between just being really upset about something, and deliberately acting upset to get the result you want?
