Mental health professionals specialising in child and adolescent care are cautioning parents against brushing off their children’s tantrums as simple acts of defiance or attention seeking, warning that such behaviour could reflect more serious emotional or psychological struggles.
They explained that tantrums might point to conditions such as anxiety, depression, or other internal challenges that children are unable to articulate.
While tantrums can be a normal part of growing up, the experts emphasized that persistent emotional outbursts, sudden mood changes, social withdrawal, or sleep disturbances could signal the need for psychological support and must not be ignored.
Speaking during the recent Child and Adolescent Mental Health Summit, Professor of Psychiatry Tinuola Gunwa-Ajayi stressed that parents who overlook the emotional signals within tantrums may fail to detect early warning signs of deeper mental health issues.
