Liam's crossed the 2.5 year old barrier, so we are in the tantrum trenches. It is different the second time around. When Noah was newly 2, I thought I was a really spectacular mom, because we were navigating the "terrible twos" just fine. Then he turned three and I learned the difference between a two-year-old tantrum (he's upset) and a three-year-old tantrum (he's seeing how upsetting he can be in communicating his upset.) I also learned that all the amazing advice out there -- like how to treat a terrible tantrum -- fails sometimes. And now, with Liam, I get to re-learn it. So here's what I have learned about toddler tantrums from horror movies: "I see dead people" - The Sixth Sense Sometimes you can prevent a tantrum via good parenting: Prioritize sleep, get your toddler regular meals and snacks, warn your child when a transition is coming up (unless you have That Child who throws a tantrum immediately upon the news, in which case don't) and give smaller choices as options like "It's bedtime, would you like blue or red pyjamas tonight?" And then sometimes, you child will be reacting to something you can barely see or hear, and you just have to go with the flow. Case in point: The longest tantrum I remember Noah having was over a suggested trip to the bathroom before going to the park. Why, I will never know. In that case you just have to let it happen. "It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning." - Poltergeist If you are a mild-mannered Canadian parent, you probably just want to get your grocery shopping done without embarrassment. But add in lights, tons of bright colours, and a candy rack at the front of the store and you've got the perfect sit-up for a tantrum. My theory is that tantrums happen more often in public in part because our tots discover that our reactions in public are more interesting than they are at home. The best way to nip public tantrums in the bud is to not treat them any differently than tantrums at home. (Unless, of course, you are disturbing people at a restaurant or show, in which case leave first, then institute the utter calm.) "Are you going to close the beaches?" - Jaws In a good percentage of my son's tantrums, I had pressed some kind of limit -- forgotten a snack, missed a nap or, mistake of mistakes, ordered both appetizers and dessert at the same meal. Sometimes you have to recognize that a shark is a shark, and get out of the water as soon as possible. For most kids, the tantrum phase wears off fairly swiftly and then you can spend that extra 20 minutes catching up. What's your tantrum horror story? (Photo: iStock)