16-month-old seems strong-willed and impatient — temperament or am I causing it?
Hi everyone,
My daughter is 16 months old, and lately I’ve been wondering if some of her behavior is just her temperament or if I’m somehow making it worse.
She has always seemed very strong-willed. If she can’t do something she wants, gets redirected, or hears “no,” she can get very frustrated. Sometimes she’ll scream, and occasionally she’ll hit her own head when she’s upset.
What makes me question myself is that when I’m really paying attention to her triggers, staying ahead of meltdowns, redirecting early, and managing situations carefully, these behaviors happen less often. But it’s exhausting feeling like I have to constantly monitor and adjust everything to prevent them.
I’m starting to wonder:
• Is this normal behavior for a 16-month-old?
• Does this sound more like a strong temperament and low frustration tolerance?
• Could I be contributing to it by being too controlling or intervening too much?
• Is it possible that I’m expecting too much self-control from a child this age?
• Am I trying to “discipline” behaviors that are actually developmentally normal?
I’d love to hear from parents who had toddlers like this. Did things improve with age? What helped?
Thanks!
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Sometimes I feel like I’m overanalyzing every behavior and trying too hard to manage her emotions, and I honestly don’t know whether that’s helping or making things worse.