For years, my son was a tad-bit on the moody side. It was almost as if his moods were always simmering, and you never knew when the pot would escalate to a rapid boil!  This is the same child who threw an all-out tantrum because we asked him to stop whining. A classic blame-thrower, he insisted: “Dad yelled at me! And besides, my throat is just scratchy.” Hmmm, sounded like whining on this end. But things are MUCH better now that my husband and I learned how to manage our son’s emotional intensity with more finesse.