The Tantrum Backup Plan

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beads 1When was the last time you were out in public or at home and your little one lost it a little? I don’t want to brag or anything but I’ve gotten quite a few stares at stores for my kid’s behavior. The question is how do you handle these outbursts whether at the park, shopping, at a play date or even at home? I’ve tried several things and found the key for my family is being consistent and calm while giving them an outlet or way to redirect their momentary madness! You do have to be sneaky about it and it’s a good idea to have more than one trick up your sleeve. Here’s a few things that have worked for my family.

The first and the one that I have found to be so simple and one of the most effective is “take a lap”.

I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. It first started as a joke(or maybe a temporary loss of sanity), I was about to lose it and I remembered a P.E teacher I had in middle school used to tell us to take a lap when we were out of control. So in my frazzled state I yelled “take a lap”, mostly to amuse myself, but she did it and laughed the entire time she circled our couch. It was amazing, she stopped crying and ran around that couch for a good five minutes, I was in awe! Since then I have used it several times. Many times I run around the couch, or whatever shes running around, with her. Unfortunately, we can’t use this everywhere but I do use it at my house, the park, and anywhere else there is a place to run! You could easily change what action your child performs(maybe jumping jacks or hula hoop).

The next is yoga.

I started doing yoga with my kids when they were very little. My daughter really loves it and it has become a great tool for calming her down. She will take deep breaths and use yoga moves to calm herself without any prompting. This is something she has been doing since before she was two. It is great because she does not need me to guide her.  If she gets upset she will often take it upon herself to find a quiet place and do a little yoga. Bonus, little “yogis” are adorable!

Hugging it out is another great way to calm your kids.

I have to be honest, sometimes I need a moment before I can use this one. However, I do really believe in it! My son is in college and I still believe this is the best thing for him. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t throw fits(everyday anymore) but we do still have disagreements and hugging it out still makes him feel better(College kids that still want to hug their moms are the best). If your little one is throwing a fit, try grabbing them and giving them a good firm hug(the firm part is important), sometimes it is what they need.

If you have an older child try having them sort beads, it is awesome(you can also use beans, but I find that I always cook them before we get to sorting, oops)!

It gives both of you a second to regroup. I recommend having them sort one minute per year of age. I bought a large container at the craft store and have them sort by color. This is a great tool, I have even removed my child from a party we were hosting to sort. I promise you she was a new kid when she returned (and I was able to host my party without sweat rings forming under my arms on my beautiful new hostess shirt that I got for a great deal)!

What do you do to diffuse the little bombs, that our adorable children, can sometimes be? I would love to have some new tricks up my sleeve!

10 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks, Deanna! I will be using many of these tips, especially the bean sorting and the “take a lap” one! My older son is 4.5 years old now and often says he’s “doing yoga” based on random moves he has seen me do (rather poorly, mind you). I think he would really love and benefit from yoga. Do you have any places in town you’d suggest for a mommy and me type yoga class? I know a lot of these classes are for babies and their moms, so I don’t know if something like this exists.

  2. i love this so much! I can’t wait to try the sorting and taking a lap! I believe it’s our responsibility to teach good coping mechanisms. This is a great start!

  3. Wow – these are all great ideas for helping with meltdowns. Love the take a lap because it takes all that pent up energy and uses it up in a more positive way. The yoga idea is priceless. I learned the power of taking deep yoga breaths later in life and so I didn’t teach my son until high school. I think it helped. Thanks!

  4. “Take a lap” I’ve said this today. More than once 🙂 We’ve learned a lot about sensory processing over the years and have added a few things to our calming arsenal. Pushing on a wall, carrying something heavy, chewing gum (although for one of my kiddos it does not have a calming effect and makes this sweet child very grouchy), drinking something through a straw (sucking is calming- think babies). I forgotten many of these until I wrote this comment so I’m excited to start implementing them again! Sorting beans is new and I’m excited to give it a try. Great thoughts Deanna!

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