Yesterday we went to the park as a family. Ellie ran around the playground and played on all the toys, with her Daddy’s help. They climbed up ladders. They zoomed on the slides. They jumped on wiggly bridges. They laughed, they giggled, we had a blast.
Sometimes Ellie gets a little bossy. She knows what she wants and then points and directs Daddy until he does what she wants. Like sit on the right slide, or climb the stairs after her, or help her play on the teeter totter. Andy was a great sport and ran all around the park with Ellie. They had a great time.
After playing we decided to walk over to the food venders and buy chicken and sticky rice for dinner. We found a dry, quiet spot on the grass and had a picnic dinner. As we turned to walk home, trouble started. Ellie saw the playground on our way out and started throwing a fit. She didn’t want to go home. She wanted to play more, even though it was soon to be time for bed.
As a tantrum started, I had an idea. I asked Ellie to say “bye, bye” to the park. Ellie regained composure and waved enthusiastically and said bye, bye. The way she said it was like she was saying goodbye to a friend, but also knowing that she would be back. That she would have fun there again, so she could go home then.
After a long weekend of tantrums and battles, it was nice to have a moment of helping Ellie deal with her emotions in a positive way.
What ways do you distract or disrupt tantrums before they get out of hand?
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