You just got home from work…
You lack the energy for much of anything..
Then a meltdown begins, your little one has a disagreement and it’s enough to cause them to go into full meltdown mode
It strikes your nerves and makes you ball up your fist…
You just can’t see yourself pulling through another breakdown.
what can you do…?
Take a breath
As cliche as it sounds, taking a breath can bring down the stress levels.
The energy it takes to fight back is way more than you need to spend.
Walk away for a moment
Sometimes the first tip to the situation de-escalating is to leave it.
Regather your thoughts before you react- they are waiting for it
That big old meltdown is fed by the reaction, the more you react the bigger it will get
The lower you give emotional reaction the more it will de-escalate
If you don’t know already-find the source of the meltdown
It’s hard to find a solution if you don’t know what caused the issue
Help them find a solution
Encouraging them to find a solution to the issue is a good way to help calm them down
There have been days where my sanity was tested because of one or more meltdowns
It can be difficult to prevent meltdowns or know when they are coming
The most important thing is to keep calm in those situations
Why do these tantrums happen?
There can be any number of reasons your child can have a meltdown or tantrum.
Some reasons for tantrums can be:
- stress
- anxiety
- nuerological issue
- ptsd
- overwhelm
- exhaustion
As a mother of three, two of which are step children that are somewhat close in age to me, parenting can be challenging at times.
With my step children, some of the root of their tantrums are from the life they had with their mother, which was very unstable and stressful.
with my biological daughter she sees the older two react to certain situations and mimic those reactions, or mimic the actions of another child her age.
There are also instances where it can be linked to a nuerological issue.
Depending on the situation is dependant on the ability to prevent them in the future, for example, a child with a nuerological condition may not comprehend some of their behaviors.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and if you found it helpful, please share!