Moving from one activity to another can be difficult, even for adults. It’s especially challenging for kids when the transition is being made from something enjoyable (such as playing or watching TV) to something less desirable (such as leaving a fun place or doing chores).
When my son was a toddler, he had a really hard time being dropped off at and being picked up from preschool. He’d cry or physically resist leaving, refusing to get into his car seat.
The most effective tool for staving off a tantrum? No, it isn't YouTube Kids as a distraction, or ice cream as a bribery offer, or a shower as a place to lock yourself in until the wails of "But I wanted to eat my soup with chopsticks!" subside. Instead, to help your kid get a handle on his emotions in the middle of a meltdown, you may just need a pen and some paper.
As even the most mild-tempered kids will occasionally lose their crap in the lolly aisle or while leaving the playground, most parents have dealt with a tantrum or two. We've all developed our own personal strategies for dealing: Ignoring, giving timeouts or placating. But what if your kid's freak-out isn't a standard tantrum? What if it's a sensory meltdown?
Sleep habits. Fertility. Steps per day. Water consumption. There's a tracker for that -- all of that. So it probably shouldn't have surprised me to read Dr Catherine Pearlman's advice for struggling parents, and yet it kind of blew my mind. When you're trying to change your child's behaviour and you're not sure if what you're doing is working, she suggests collecting some data and analysing it.
