Guilty as charged, yerhonor. 
welcome to my world:D
My thirsty 4 year old once threatened me with, “Daddy! If you don’t give me my milk RIGHT NOW, I’m never going to drink milk again!”
Yeah, that wasn’t really well thought out.
It may not make me very popular, particularly when people are watching, but when my son (2.5) throws his very rare fits, I tell him “You’re not doing it right, baby. If you want to throw a fit, you have to yell louder. Kick your feet now. Scream really loud, ok?”
He never really gets all the way into the tantrum, because he a. gets mad about being mocked and b. doesn’t want to be told how to do it.
So far, it’s been working like a charm!
I used this method for my (currently) six year old. I am paying for it now. I realize it was sheer exhaustion for my part, but I should have thought about the long reaching consequences. We are working towards a better goal now (everyone being, maybe not happy, but at least not screaming) and it is amazing how this works like a charm - at least while they are little. My wake up call was the day I realized that my then 4 y/o was incredibly taller than my older son, with a much more fierce temper. He didn’t get what he wanted (don’t know, could have been a juice box or TV time or setting the cat on fire) and decided he would not only yell at me, but also hit me across the face.
You know that scene in American Psycho when the toothpick snaps? I knew that by the time this kid was 12 he could hurt me, and if not me, another young woman or man. I looked at him, dropped to my knees and said “I’ve made a mistake letting you think this is ok. It is most definitely not. Things will change. You will never hit me again. You will not have video games, toy extras or so much as a school-bought lunch (because lunch boxes are apparently a source of poverty shame at our school) if you ever hit me again.” He tested me a couple times. Treats and TV went away. It took a while - longer than I am willing to admit. It has worked out well, but in the long run, I sure do wish I had ignored those early tantrums. The peace I got from giving in seem incredibly expensive in the long run.
Note: I don’t just draw the line at hitting me, I also apply it to tantrums. The hitting part was just the snap back to reality I needed.
No. It’s not just you. 