I visited my grandson, Max, this past week. Although he is basically very good-natured, once in a while he loses it. After all, he is a toddler.
We were playing with his train set. When the tracks came apart, Max got mad. I said to him, “wait a minute…what can we do as an alternative when we get upset?…” Then, I came up with this.
I told him to take a deep breath and showed him how to do it. Then, I told him to “simmer down.” And last, I said, “now, fix it.”
This became our mantra for the week whenever he started to go berserk. I would say to him, “What do we do when we get frustrated?” Instantly, he would stop carrying on and took a deep breath. Then, I said, “simmer down,” and then, I said, “what next?”
Max learning patiently how to make the pinwheel work.
He responded, “fix it!”
Namaste, Jane
Fantastic! I’m going to try it too.
You are the best.
What’s even funnier is that I certainly didn’t expect a toddler to go along with this. Plus, you should see the face he makes when he takes a deep breath!