When are intense tantrums in a child a reason to worry?
Applies to age: 12–48 months
In short
Tantrums usually start around 18 months of age and are very common in young children; at 4 years of age they happen far less often. If you are seriously worried about your child's behavior, it is worth seeing a doctor.
What is normal
All claims: international norm
- Tantrums usually start around 18 months of age and are very common in young children.
Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
Temper tantrums usually start at around 18 months and are very common in toddlers.
NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-16 · license [1]
- When a child talks better, they have tantrums less often.
Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
Once a child can talk more, they're less likely to have tantrums.
NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-16 · license [1]
- At 4 years of age, tantrums happen far less often.
Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
By the age of 4, tantrums are far less common.
NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-16 · license [1]
- Most young children occasionally bite, hit or push another child.
Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
Most young children occasionally bite, hit or push another child.
NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-16 · license [1]
When to worry
All claims: international norm
Worth discussing with a doctor:
- If you are seriously worried about your child's behavior, it is worth seeing a doctor.
Source: NHS – show the original wording (EN)
Summarized and translated by the editors, not an official translation. Verbatim quote from the source, in its original wording:
If you're seriously concerned about your child's behaviour, talk to your health visitor or GP.
NHS · open the source · accessed: 2026-10-16 · license [1]
The sources in our registry do not say when to see a doctor.
international norm “International norm” next to a section heading means its claims come from a non-Polish source, because no Polish source in our registry covers this topic. When this applies to only some of the claims, the foreign ones carry the same label next to their source.
Sources
- NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia)License: Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS (nhs.uk, Anglia). Content summarized and translated by the editors; changed relative to the original. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The summary is ours and is not attributed to the NHS.