DD (3.5 years) had a meltdown yesterday so I told her she needed to calm down before we could talk. She cried "I don't know how to" which kind of broke my heart. I tried to get her to take a deep breath or count to 10 but she was too worked up. Any tips on how to teach her to calm herself when she gets so worked up?
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I read a great article about this, but I'm not sure where. 1) maybe try the water bottle with glitter glue in it - you turn it upside down and watch the glitter flow...(not sure if I'm explaining it well).
The article had other suggestions like changing the scene - dimming lights if it's bright, going outside if you are in, etc. Another was changing orientation, going upside down, swinging, etc.
My lo is 3 and I help him to calm down, mostly by a tight hug with some rocking and soothing, shushing or singing.
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We are going through these types of issues too. My 3 year old will ask me to help her calm down when she gets worked up (usually with hugs, deep breaths, etc), but I feel like we need to be teaching her how to calm down on her own. I've seen the glitter bottles @Mrs Green Grass mentioned- maybe worth a try.
Sorry not to be more helpful but you are definitely not alone! Maybe someone else has more insight!
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@mrs green grass: YES! I saw a post on those bottles a while back we thought I should make one. Maybe a weekend project this weekend.
I've tried changing the scene by taking her outside but it usually doesn't help. And she usually doesn't let me touch her-I've tried a tight hug and rocking but she just pushes me away
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Taking a deep breath and counting to 4 works well for LO (Daniel Tiger shout-out). 4 is enough to break the tension of an outburst, but not too high of a number to count to. Sometimes we do it together, which LO seems to like too and respond well to.
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DD is 3 and will say she needs "alone time" and puts a blanket over her head while sitting on the couch for a minute. No clue where she got this but she knows when she is grumpy and has a bad attitude and will initiate this herself. Maybe a dim room/area with some deep breathing?
She will also sing "when you're feeling frustrated, take a step back and ask for help." Gotta love Daniel Tiger.
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We taught LO to take deep breaths and count to ten. It really seems to help her a lot. She also really loves dinosaurs and the dinosaurs in this book also count to ten, so it reinforced it for her.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Do-Dinosaurs-Say-Mad/dp/0545143152
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@ab810: DD loves books and they usually help reinforce things for her. I'll definitely look into getting that book.
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My lo is still too young, but I remember when my niece was around that age, my sil would coach her to take deep breaths by saying "smell the flowers, blow out the birthday candles"
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The Daniel Tiger episode about getting mad helped a lot for LO. Every time he was upset we would sing him the song, and it worked most of the time to calm him down. At school LO made a calm down bottle with a water bottle, glitter and food coloring. Now that he is older (4.5), the bottle works better.
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My daughter is younger than yours (26 months) but the only thing that really calms her down is a tight hug and rocking (she calls it rockabye baby). The pressure helps immensely, and she knows now to ask for rockabye baby when she is having a meltdown.
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I looked up the time out bottles on Etsy and found this one. I just ordered one because I don't think I could make my own for under $10!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/156498398/8oz-calming-bottle-or-time-out-bottle?ref=also_bought
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We usually try to remove him from the situation. Hubs taught him to take a deep breath, count to 5, and take another deep breath. Now all we have to say is "take a deep breath," and he'll count to 5 on his own.
I do think the calm down bottle would help, too. I've been meaning to make one but just haven't found the time. Sounds like a good cold evening project for us!
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@BeachMama: oooo- thanks for the link. I'm not crafty at all so this will save me time and frustration
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