When my guy throws such a tantrum, I usually remove him from the place where he is, especially, if there are other kids there, and take him to a quieter (and more boring) spot and talk to him in a low, firm voice. He has to focus hard to listen when I'm talking softly, and that will usually redirect him from the tantrum or calm him down. Sometimes we assume that they are misbehaving, when they're just really frustrated about something. Maybe he's not getting the hang of the game he's playing. Or it's too hot or cold, or whatever. I usually say to my toddler - "What do you want? I want..." and let him complete the sentence. This tells him that he doesn't have to throw a tantrum to get your attention, and it teaches him to express himself in a socially acceptable way.
But there are times when this does not work. Then I let him scream, hit, whatever in his safe corner, to expend his energy. I ignore the tantrum and give him no attention until he's ready to talk to me. Reward only good behaviours with your attention.
Reha, daal is a solid fave with children. Don’t know why. Try white rice and plain daal. And try giving him plain roti or paratha to hold and eat. My kid eats a rolled up roti/paratha almost completely on his own but won’t approach it unrolled. Go figure. Each kid has his own peccadilloes. Also try fruit. Bananas and apples are easy to try out. Raisins can be a big hit too. Do try apple peeled and unpeeled, sliced and whole to see what fits him.
Just ignore all those activities which you think are not good. But always listen to him whenever he wants to communicate you.
Spend quality time with your kid and try to understand the reason.
So we've been trying really hard to make headway with this eating thing and it seems to be getting better. Although we do have our off days.
Holding back the milk makes him eat more since he's hungry (this may seem like a DUH thing but denying him his milk bottle is a disaster always). Saturday he actually ate 3/4 of a roti with salan for lunch, snacked on yogurt and some cheese AND he had biryani on Sunday. This is a big deal for my little shrimp...he hates food but maybe we just need to keep at it.
As far as tantrums go...I am just ignoring him now when he throws himself on the floor and screams. I walk away far enough where I can see him but not too far. We were at a cell phone store yesterday and a little puppy was there...when she started to leave with her owners...he got mad and ran into a corner of the store to wail. I ended up taking him to the car, strapping him in and waiting for my mom to get done with her business. Endless crying. Endless. I am going to try other things to see what helps but so far...nothing does.
As far as tantrums go...I am just ignoring him now when he throws himself on the floor and screams. I walk away far enough where I can see him but not too far. We were at a cell phone store yesterday and a little puppy was there...when she started to leave with her owners...he got mad and ran into a corner of the store to wail. I ended up taking him to the car, strapping him in and waiting for my mom to get done with her business. Endless crying. Endless. I am going to try other things to see what helps but so far...nothing does.
I know for a fact that every person needs acknowledgement and one amazing trick I have learned with tantrum time is that if I pick up my toddler and be the only thing in his vision and repeat simple words mirroring his emotions then he calms down faster and begins nodding along. For instance, I would pick him up and say, sad? Sad? Sad? Crying? (as opposed to you are sad, you are crying, you are crying because you are sad). I read in the Happiest Toddler on the Block that babies go down to basics when upset and cannot hear you. So it is best to throw those words at them which show that YOU hear them and which they can process easily. Very soon my toddler ends up nodding and sniffing and I hug and repeat and repeat and repeat and when he is calm enough I say "yes you are sad you are crying I see that. I see that...BUT..." and then offer distraction