Strong Emotions and Meltdowns

Are you having a hard minute?

I choose to say this instead of are you having a hard day, week or year. It's a personal preference that I just realized I did one day. It's okay to feel sad, mad, angry, scared... but feeling mad for 10 minutes in the morning doesn't need to ruin the whole day. So instead of saying are you having a hard day, I say are you having a hard minute? 

PS I have hard minutes all the time too, but I don't want my emotions in one part of my day to impact the rest of my day or week. It's empowering instead of throwing myself a pity party.

When you feel triggered

But how hard is it when we feel triggered?! What do you do to stay calm??

Ideas:

- Take a LOOOOONG deep breath.

- Smile, force it til it feels real

- Be warm & comforting

- Connect… even if you don’t understand why they are upset, acknowledge that they are and say it, “you seem sad“

- Be present (phones away, eyes up)

- Hug them

- Walk away

- Expect the meltdowns, prepare for them, and accept the emotions that pour from your children

- Talk with a life coach, emotional healer or therapist to reduce stresses and get through tough emotions/experiences

👏🏼If you need help knowing how to effectively support your child through tantrums, meltdowns & whining, check out my tantrum course. 👏🏼

Teaching Your Child to stay Calm

Now teach that you have figured out how you can stay calm… how can we teach this to our children. We need to take the time to help them learn the skills. If it’s difficult for you, it’ll be even more difficult for them because their brain is not fully developed! So make a little chart, talk about ways to breathe… things they can do when they are upset.