This too shall pass.
Ah, the tantrum, an oft-discussed and rather tricky aspect of parenting young children. Ranging from mild to feral and triggered by events both minor and major, they certainly keep life interesting. Most of us are pretty familiar with how tantrums go down. The bell curve of escalation and gradual settling. The squashed, red faces and angry tears. And the exhausted cuddles afterwards.
If you’re someone who manages to approach the tanty with zen-like prowess, I applaud you and would love to know your secrets. But, if you’re anything like me (prone to over-analysis) then your thought process during a meltdown might look a little something like this:
1. And he’s on the ground. Excellent. Away from sharp objects? Check. Safe to proceed to full meltdown mode? Check.
2. Okay, am I supposed to be ignoring this tantrum? I’m sure I read something online last week about the fact that we shouldn’t be ignoring them, instead showing compassion and empathy when they’re this distressed. Sounds good in theory. Not easy to do when you’re being swiped at. But here it goes…
