Top ten tantrum names

Does a child’s name influence their temperament?

Can you tell how well a child behaves just by looking at their name?  According to a new Bounty survey, toddlers named Rose and Corey top the tantrum league, being the most likely to kick up a fuss and argue with their parents.

Other hard to handle girls include Sophia, Victoria, Faith and Isabel, while boys responsible for giving their parents a headache are Jay, Bailey, Kyle and Kian.

However, girls named Connie, Maddison and Rachel rarely lose their temper and behave like little angels, while boys called Finn, Christopher and Ewan are a delight.

Bounty’s Faye Mingo says “It’s certainly surprising to think that a child’s name may influence their temperament although the majority of parents we surveyed don’t think you can judge the way a child behaves by their name.

However, it does look like the spelling parents choose can make all the difference when it comes to determining their child’s behavior. Girls named ‘Isabel’ are the fifth most likely to throw tantrums, whilst Isobels who choose to spell their name with an ‘o’ rather than an ‘a’ are fourth in our little angels list.  Likewise Lily with one ‘l’ is likely to be more of a handful than her counterpart spelt double ‘l’.

The survey, which asked 3,000 parents of children aged one to four how well their child behaved, found that girls are marginally more difficult to handle than boys – with 58 per cent of girls often throwing tantrums compared to 56 per cent of boys.

The average child, boy or girl, has up to three major strops a day – with the most popular time being mid-afternoon.  But bedtime causes problems too, with 30 per cent of little darlings throwing a wobbler before lights out.

Parents of all children are agreed that toddlers are most likely to have an outburst if they feel they aren’t getting their own way, or if they are made to do something they don’t like.

A fifth of parents say food causes many children to flare up, while many claim their child will make a fuss to get attention.

While most outbreaks take place at home, the supermarket is the second most popular destination for tempers and tantrums, although one in twenty children decides to wait until in the company of other parents at the school gates or nursery before kicking-off.

When it comes to reprimanding their little ones, four in 10 parents choose to walk away from the child until they calm down.  A third immediately tell them off, while a quarter use the naughty step as punishment.

Only one in 20 parents feel able to laugh at the state their child is getting themselves into.

But a weary four per cent of mothers have even cried themselves when their little one has had an outburst.

Faye continues: “With all the extra pressures of modern life that parents face today it’s not surprising that many parents are feeling the strain when it comes to their children’s tantrums. The  ‘terrible twos’ are certainly a well known phenomenon, but  it seems that tantrums are still common in children up to four years old, so this may be a misnomer!

Even the most angelic children will lose their temper from time to time but with some careful management tantrums can be minimized. Keeping to clear routines and rules, planning ahead, creating a special ‘time out’ spot and providing distractions are all helpful temper curbing tactics.

However, tantrums can also be are a natural way for toddlers to let off steam and are sometimes inevitable. Over half of the parents we surveyed admitted that when their little one turns round with a cheeky smile after causing a scene they can’t help but forgive them instantly!”

But the good news is that half of all parents already believe the only reason their two or three-year-old is so hard to handle is because they are incredibly clever.

And six in 10 realize their children already know exactly how to get their own way.

BIGGEST HANDFUL – GIRLS

1. Rose
2. Sophia
3. Victoria
4. Faith
5. Isabel
6. Tilly
7. Brooke
8. Maisie
9. Lily
10. Georgia

BIGGEST HANDFUL – BOYS

1. Corey
2. Jay
3. Bailey
4. Kyle
5. Kian
6. Harrison
7. Mason
8. Reece
9. Robert
10. Connor

LITTLE ANGELS – GIRLS

1. Connie
2. Maddison
3. Rachel
4. Isobel
5. Rosie
6. Lacey
7. Eva
8. Courtney
9. Elizabeth
10. Lilly

LITTLE ANGELS – BOYS

1. Finn
2. Christopher
3. Ewan
4. Lewis
5. Leo
6. Finley
7. Alexander
8. Oscar
9. David
10. Luke