last week, after several richter-scale tantrums right in close proximity of one another (including one in the middle of the night), all google signs were leading to explosive child syndrome. any minute we thought we were going to find an 8x10 picture of our child in the DSM- IV. we talked about this dilemma with our friends and family as if it was going on for years, instead of bug just going through a rough patch. then we decided to keep a little tantrum log and it turns out our kid doesn't quite fit the explosive behavioral patterns that ross greene describes:

"The child may exhibit three types of behavior during the tantrum. First, the child may be verbally abusive, screaming and using profanity, such as "I hate you, you bitch!" Second, the child may throw, smash or otherwise destroy items, such as toys, furniture, phones,or books. Last, the child may be physically abusive, attacking family members, friends or schoolmates with feet, fists or weapons. A child may exhibit one or all of these types of behavior during a tantrum."

seeing as our kid doesn't call us bitches, destroy things, or attack people, we're thinking she's more along the lines of "intense" and "spirited." phew.