13mo hair pulling & tantrums

Oh the tantys at change time - sheesh. We were on such a roll until about 2 weeks ago when DS started throwing HUGE tantrums while getting changed. If nothing else works you can use your feet to hold his arms down (right foot on left upper arm, left foot on right upper arm) so they can't twist and get free. Yes - not the most ideal situation but sometimes nothing seems to calm the tantrum so figure better to get it over with as fast as possible!

I think it is just a stage but we are going through the same thing so can't tell you how long it lasts....

Same here sometimes with nappy changes so I have some pull up nappy pants for when my DS is going through a tantrum at nappy time phase!

All normal I would think so it is just about riding it out and keeping as sane as you can til they are old enough to reason with a bit more. Don't worry that your child is the only one -I got so upset at times because all the other coffee group babies seemed so well behaved....then I saw a few throw a tanty and i felt so reassured that it wasn't just me with a monster on my hands!

Distraction and leaving them to throw their tantrum works well here - and I walk away at times so he doesn't have an audience...he soon gives up!

Oh man you poor thing. we still havent hit tantys yet but when mack looks like he is gonna amp up for one or touch something he cant have he gets a very stern sounding no. sometimes the lip quivers and he looks upset but i just leave it as is and he ends up being fine. if we say no and he moves away strait away (which he normally does) we tell him in a very happy voice 'well done for listening' i dont know if it will work with a child throwing tantrums but might be worth a shot? sorry cant be more helpful :S

from reading a bit more into your OP, it seems like the hair pulling is a readtion to other children trying to take things off her etc. So her hair pulling will be her way of saying that she doesn't want them there.
What you need to do is empower her to do the 'right' thing. So when a child tries to take something off and she pulls hair, by all means say something along the lines of "we use gentle hands(or similar)" BUT ALSO say, "if you want them to stop, you say "STOP"" with an accompanying hand motion. this way, you are showing her what the appropriate way of dealing with a situation by herself.

I have done this with my DD since she was about 10mnths. I never expected her to do it straight away, but I knew that by repetition she would pick it up. And from about 14mnths, she did say "stop" with the hand motion.

Also, do it with her, ie when she is doing something you don't want her to do, use the "stop" with motion. That way it reinforces that it is the appropriate way of dealing with things she doesn't like.

HTH