If you're a parent, you've been here. That frightening place called a toddler tantrum. Sometimes without reason or warning, the complete collapse into screaming and unreasoned behavior. I remember visiting my son's Montessori school one afternoon, and noticing a gorgeous little 3 year old girl sitting on the grass in full throttle tantrum. One of the Directors approached me and said "It's happening so frequently, we're recommending she be considered for Ritalin."
"What? I reeled back. "I always believed that the full time job responsibilities of a toddler were to be unreasonable and throw tantrums. That doesn't need a pill to fix. That just needs a year to fix." Today's WashPost has a book review written with great sympathy for parents who chose to medicate their children. Of course there are lots of worthy reasons and complex issues involved, which I don't mean to diminish. I'm just suggesting that I prefer the good ole' days when my mother would comment after she witnessed a child in a tantrum "What a pill" and not "Take this pill".
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