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Temper Tantrums, a natural though dreaded symptom of "The Terrible Two's,"  can also be an early sign of mental health problems, though distinguishing between typical misbehavior and mental health issues can be a problem for most parents.

 A paper published in the August 29 edition of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reveals that researchers have created an easy-to administer questionnaire specifically designed to distinguish the typical misbehavior of toddler-hood from more serious health issues to help parents to identify the difference.

This will also enable early identification and treatment of emerging mental health problems and help children from spiraling downward into chronic mental health problems as well as preventing rampant mislabeling and overtreatment of typical misbehavior.

Perhaps the most important finding of the research was that temper tantrums are not as common (or are not supposed to be as common) as previously thought. Though a ubiquitous act among preschoolers, tantrums should not be frequent, regardless of race or sex; if they are frequent than this is your first clue that something is wrong.

"That's an 'aha!' moment, "said Lauren Wakschlag, professor and vice chair in the department of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and lead author of a paper in a news release. "It gives a measurable indicator to tell us when tantrums are frequent enough that a child may be struggling. Perhaps for the first time, we have a tangible way to help parents, doctors and teachers know when the frequency and type of tantrums may be an indication of a deeper problem."

The study found that while a typical tantrum may occur when a child is tired or frustrated or during daily routines such as at bedtime, mealtime or getting dressed, an atypical tantrum however may be one that occurs at random or is so intense that a child becomes exhausted.

While any of these behaviors may occur in some children from time to time, when these atypical forms of tantrums occur regularly, they become a red flag for concern.

While the sample questionnaire is currently comprised of a whopping 118 questions, researchers hope to minimize it to a total of 25. An ultimate goal of the research team is to widely distribute the MAP-DB questionnaire in a brief computerized form for parents to fill out in pediatric waiting rooms, with the computer generating immediate feedback to pediatricians prior to the appointment.