Most of us can recall a time when the mere funny feeling of the lining of a sock caused us (or our children) to spiral into a hour of uncontrollable tears, screams and thrashing about. This is what we like to call a tantrum. The question for parents and caregivers is, what is the best way to deal with a tantrum? There are a couple things to remember when it comes to tantrums. The first is that kids throw tantrums, in part, because their brains are not yet fully developed. The region of the brain responsible for helping us to inhibit aggressive, spontaneous behavior just isn’t quite ready to deal with the wrong socks, or bedtime, or turning off the iPad. That is not to say that kids can’t stop themselves from erupting when they’re angry, or develop tools to help them deal with tantrums, it’s just to say it takes practice and time to learn to temper yourself when you’re upset. No need to dismiss bad behavior, and let’s be fair, adults with fully developed brains throw tantrums too. But maybe give your kiddos a break sometimes, they’ve got a lot going on between their ears. And actually giving them a break is exactly what you should do. Any energy you add to tantrums just fuels the fire. The best thing to do is leaving the kids alone (as long as they’re safe) and let them tantrum until they chill. Tantrums are also not the best time for kids or adults to learn lessons. After the storm has calmed give it some time, then talk about more constructive ways of dealing with anger, and frustration.