The "tantrum phase" can really test parents, as little ones exploring the world and their limits can throw epic fits over the most unexpected things.
So what can an average parent do? Laugh at themselves in frustration, then share their struggles online so fellow parents can laugh along. These stories come from forums and Facebook groups—real reasons why toddlers somewhere threw massive tantrums. Here are our favorites!
“They couldn’t turn the page after the last one in the book.”
“They found out ‘Mommy’ isn’t my real name.”
“Because they didn’t want to go anywhere. Funny thing is, we weren’t even planning to go anywhere.”
“I said good morning to them.”
“Not all their crayons fit in their hand.”
“They wanted me to put their broken cookie back together, but I couldn’t.”
“I didn’t let them wipe my bottom when they followed me to the bathroom.”
“Because grandma complimented their sweater.”
“Because the plastic T-Rex’s mouth wasn’t big enough to bite off the Lego figure’s head.”
“They placed one foot on one bed, their head and hands on another to be a bridge. They asked me to walk across, and when I said no, all hell broke loose.”
“When we were leaving for vacation, they wanted to travel in the suitcase.”
“Because I washed their apple.”
“I didn’t wash their face with the sponge I usually clean the toilet with.”
“They wanted to get on the bus they saw on TV.”
“They wanted to see the stars better that their nightlight projected on the wall, so they turned on the lamp. It didn’t work.”
“I wouldn’t let them bite the cat.”
“They started thrashing in my arms, accidentally bumped my face, and my lip split open. When they saw I was bleeding, they cried so hard I ended up comforting them.”
“I cut their toenails while we sang a nursery rhyme. It went well and they liked it, so when we finished, they asked me to put their nails back on and do it again. I tried the rhyme without cutting nails, but no luck. I brought a storm on myself.”
“They couldn’t take their pants off alone, which already made things tricky, but when they couldn’t find the booger that fell from their nose, all hell broke loose.”
“They dropped one of their toys on my toe and I said ouch.”
“The new car we bought wasn’t pink, it was blue.”
“When I took the muffins out of the oven, they were still too hot to eat.”
“I flushed the poop down the toilet even though they wanted to say goodbye to it.”
“They wanted to invite Bogyó and Babóca to their birthday party.”
“At the zoo, the goat ate the goat food they were holding out to feed it.”
“It was raining and they didn’t want it to rain. They asked me to stop it and got mad when I said I couldn’t.”
“They thought if they colored themselves green with a marker, they’d turn into the Hulk.”
“We sang Happy Birthday to them on their birthday.”
The wind blew the receipt we got at the gas station out of their hand.”
“They found out the gum tattoo doesn’t stay on their arm forever.”
