Children's Tantrums: why they happen and how to cope

Tantrums are an inevitable part of living with a toddler. But with the prospect of weeks or even months of families cooped up together ahead of us, how can parents keep meltdowns (by toddlers and themselves!) to a minimum? Emily Jones is a professor of infant neurodevelopment and autism at the Birkbeck Babylab and she tells Jane what’s happening when a child has a tantrum, when and how to intervene, and gives top tips for parents trying to cope.

Earlier this week, the former cabinet minister Amber Rudd tweeted “During Gov briefings am I the only one thinking ‘where are all the women?’ Why are there no senior women in the “war cabinet” or used to convey those critical messages? Equality means better decisions. Don’t pack the women away during a crisis.” Many were quick to reply that this was no time for quotas and that ability matters more than equality. But what are the problems with not including the different perspectives and lived experiences of women in decision making? We hear from former Conservative cabinet minister, Amber Rudd, Caroline Criado-Perez, the author of ‘Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men’ and Simone Schnall, Reader in Experimental Social Psychology and Director of Studies in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge.

To mark the Spring Equinox, Radio 4 is broadcasting readings of seasonal poetry. Today we have poetry from the award-winning Welsh poet and playwright, Menna Elfyn.

Mothers' Day can be a difficult time for some people, Robyn Donaldson and Emma Hopkinson tell us why they started Others' Day.

Presenter: Jane Garvey Producer: Kirsty Starkey

Interviewed Guest: Amber Rudd Interviewed Guest: Caroline Criado-Perez Interviewed Guest: Simone Schnall Interviewed Guest: Professor Emily Jones Interviewed Guest: Menna Elfyn Interviewed Guest: Emma Hopkinson Interviewed Guest: Robyn Donaldson