Tantrums

Lately, Stewie has been having increased tantrums. I'm not sure what caused it. One night he had an epic tantrum (epic for us, anyway). He flopped on the floor and started screaming, crying, kicking and hitting. Then he'd get up on his dad's recliner chair and start it all over, eventually flopping to the floor. We didn't get near him because he was all over the place and not easily comforted or contained.

More recently, he's been into changing shirts. He was on shirt #3 by naptime, which is around noon. The first shirt I put on him had a heart, which he pointed out (or rather, he just labeled it). When I went to put it on him, he freaked out. He smacked my hand so hard that it was still stinging minutes later. With his moods, you never know what's going to set him off. If you let him try to do something on his own, it's hit or miss. He gets mad if you put his shirt right side up (instead of letting him stick his head through the top instead of the bottom). He gets mad if he needs help and you're not giving it fast enough. Or if he doesn't like how you're helping.

It is maddening. And he gets so mad, he can't speak. He basically shuts down. The tantrums end after a while and all he'll say about the incident is that he was crying. Yeah, you sure were. And we never know what set it off. They take a lot of energy for him, and they take a lot of energy out of us. If we knew what caused his meltdowns, we would do what we could to prevent them. I just wonder if other parents have to deal with tantrums/meltdowns which are triggered like light switches. Any tips in coping with that would be appreciated.