Mr. Personality

At some point in time over the past few weeks, my sweet, agreeable little boy turned into someone who not only has opinions, but openly expresses them and throws a fit if I don't share his point of view. I have read so much about toddler temper tantrums, and most books say that they occur because the child is frustrated because he can not communicate. Let me just say here that communication is NOT the issue. Wanting to stand on the table, or run into the street, or eat crackers 24 hours a day... THESE are the issues. I often wondered how a parent can just stand there and let a child throw a tantrum while doing nothing about it. Surely there should be some form of punishment that can be exacted. I now understand that when the day is one constant tantrum, you learn to either 1) ignore the child, 2) tune it out completely ("You say Harry has been screaming for 10 minutes? I hadn't noticed."), or 3) drink heavily. Days like today put me on the edge of #3.