Dr. Jameca CooperForensic Psychology Consultant, Emergence Psychological Services · Board Certified Counseling Psychologist and Forensic Psychology Consultant

Behavior tells us something, but context matters #psychology #tantrums #childbehaviour #meltdowns

21 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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Dr. Jameca Cooper distinguishes tantrums from meltdowns: tantrums are purposeful behaviors kids use to get what they want, while meltdowns are involuntary nervous system responses to overwhelming sensory or emotional input. The difference matters because it changes how you should respond.

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If you're out in public and you see a child having a tantrum or a meltdown, you're probably thinking that's the same thing. But actually, a tantrum and a meltdown are 2 different things. When a child is having a tantrum, it's more of a psychological approach or technique to get a desired outcome, to get something that they want. So it's more about manipulation to achieve a desired goal, whereas meltdowns are more of a neurological response. So it's more about The child's system has really overloaded, overwhelmed them, and they're not able to regulate their emotions and their responses. So one is a psychological approach or strategy, whereas the other one is more of a biological or physiological outcome of what happens in the body.