Tantrums analyzed

I watched Tyke this morning as I read Orson Card's latest Ender book. Tyke was supposed to be eating his breakfast, but was having a tantrum instead. It started when I gave him his eyedrops (for lazy-eye), but didn't end (as it usually does) when I was done. He probably screamed for half an hour, finally shutting himself back in his room until it blew over. (I cannot say that I've set him a good example for dealing with anger, but he didn't do as badly as I did at his age, or even still do sometimes.) What stood out to me was the fact that even while his emotions were out of control, his behavior was not. He threw the sippy-cup (with lid) across the kitchen floor, but his plate of food he carried carefully to the counter: he intended to refuse the meal, not to destroy anything or to make a mess. Even at not-quite-three his actions are fully under his conscious control during his rages. I am thirty, and find myself without excuse.

JG