Meltdown as temper tantrum

[Mark Peters]

  I'm working on a new column about the language of children's tantrums, fits, and snits. I think I'm going to focus on the wide use of meltdown. I haven't run into a single parent of young children who doesn't use this term. The OED has meltdown being used figuratively since 1983, but there's nothing specifically about it as a child-centric term.

 Does anybody have a lead or theory on meltdown's history re: kids? If you know of any other synonyms, that would be a help too...

 Mark

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