A toddler may hold her breath during a tantrum.
Watching your child stop breathing, then turn blue or white and pass out, can terrify any parent. While parents sometimes think children who hold their breath until they pass out do so deliberately, a breath-holding spell is actually an involuntary nervous system response that usually occurs when a child experiences a strong emotion. Under most circumstances, these episodes pose no lasting risk to your child, but you may still want to find a way to make them stop. While you can't completely eliminate breath-holding spells, taking certain steps may help prevent their occurrence.
Instructions
1. Visit your child's pediatrician after her first breath-holding spell to rule out any medical condition that might have caused the episode. Occasionally a condition such as epilepsy, heart disease or iron-deficiency anemia may be the cause of breath-holding spells. If you learn she doesn't have a medical problem, you can allow the breath-holding spells to play out when they occur.
2. Ignore breath-holding spells if your child doesn't pass out from them. These episodes may be an attention-getting device. If you become angry or frightened when your child holds his breath, it can encourage him to deliberately do so when he feels angry or frustrated.
3. Prevent the kind of incidents that inspire a breath-holding spell. Most episodes occur when a child experiences a strong emotion, such as fear, surprise, anger or pain from an accident. While you can't protect your child from all strong emotions, you can limit upsetting incidents. Tell your child well in advance about upcoming changes so that she will be prepared to stop a fun activity such as watching a movie or playing in the park.
4. Avoid temper tantrums by distracting if you see a tantrum developing. Remain calm when she starts throwing a fit and don't take her on excursions like shopping when she is overtired or hungry. Don't give in to temper tantrums out of fear that your child will start holding her breath. Giving in may encourage her to throw a tantrum to get her way.
5. Distract your child when he first starts holding his breath. According to neurologist William DeMyer, during the first seconds when a child begins holding his breath, he still has some control over his behavior. Distracting him during this period by hugging him, pointing out something interesting in the room or offering him a drink may interrupt the episode and allow him start breathing again before he passes out.
6. Wait for your child to outgrow the behavior, something that usually happens by 6 to 8 years of age. According to a 2001 study in "Pediatrics", the median age for the start of breath-holding spells was between 6 and 12 months, and the frequency of spells peaked between 12 and 18 months. The median age for the last breath-holding spell in children who hadn't had an episode in over a year was between 37 and 42 months. Out of the children still having episodes, the oldest child was 7 years-old.
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