Five tips to put a meltdown on ice

Posted on by Tamara Dickerson, M.D.
  1. Prevent – It’s a win win for everyone if you can stop a meltdown before it happens. Do this by respecting your child’s sleep schedule/downtime schedule. Don’t overstay a visit or get that last bit of shopping done.
  2. Recognize – Know the cues that a meltdown is on the horizon and respond quickly. Use distraction as a technique. Change environment, present another toy, or even “tap out” and have another adult that you trust take responsibility for your child for a brief moment.
  3. Prepare –  Don’t be the victim of a “surprise attack.” Have a plan in place of how you will handle meltdowns and practice your plan at home. Do not expect your child to know by osmosis or ESP, how to behave in public, let alone to want behave the way you would like him too.
  4. Secure – If the meltdown has already begun…secure your response: No yelling! Move to a more private area if possible, make eye contact with your child, sending a clear message that the action was “unacceptable behavior. Always be ready to walk away from whatever you are trying to do because  your child believes that his or her emotional outburst will “hijack” the situation and you will give in.
  5. Deliver – As the parent, you must be ready and willing to repeat what you are trying to teach. You must stop what you are doing and deliver the message to your child that the behavior is unacceptable. Never make idle threats. Don’t say it if you are not going to back it up. Children will ALWAYS call your bluff. Never engage in this poker game unless you plan on following through! I repeat…no threats. If you say it, you mean it…you do it.
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Published by Tamara Dickerson, M.D.

Welcome to my answer to a parenting housecall! I am a practicing pediatrician who has been asked on many occasions to come home with my families. I have been offered wallets (full of credit cards and checks-hehehe!) and even the invitation to, “please take my child for weekend”! Here is my 21st century version of a house call. This will be as close as I will get to most of you in going home with you. My dream is to provide you some practical and humorous tips to make your parenting journey appear more successful and definitely more enjoyable. Wisdom Moments is a resource that offers help in those moments when you feel like you are not leading the battle, let alone winning it. In those moments when you just need a little creativity but keep coming up with a blank. When those big ole’ eyes of your child are looking up at you , challenging – are you ready for this?! Instead of gulping and waving the white flag…drop by here for a little bit of parenting encouragement/reinforcement. Despite the humor I use to share my message, I want to reassure you have heard each request and take them very seriously. What I bring to the table is not only my credentials as an accredited pediatrician, but just as validating is that I, too, am a fellow parent in the trenches with you! So what I have to offer you, I pray, is creative, effective and grounded in truth and reality. This blog will become my way, for now, to be more available to you and to share my parenting pearls. So…a toast to christen this maiden voyage “May we laugh and cry together…may we agree and disagree…may we always encourage each other that our children are worth climbing every mountain, scouring every valley, crossing any desert – to find a parenting pearl that will positively change a course of action for us and them”.

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