I really turned it around today, I must say. Up at 4am? Ben working after a day of meltdowns yesterday? Could have been bad. But I got a nap before Ben left and some nudging from Ben to get a plan in order and things were pretty smooth all day long. Quite wonderful, actually.
So, Art's been really losing it when he has to hear "no" or when something falls apart or when he wants cherries and we don't have any cherries... Some of the reading I've been doing has recommended helping the child recognize when he's getting all "flooded" with feelings and starting to lose it. Sometimes I say, "Are you getting all flooded up again?" and sometimes I say, "Keep your cool! Hold on! You're losing your cool!" The cool thing started months ago when I (cringe) yelled at him in the car and then apologized later for "losing my cool". It is starting to really stick and has produced some funny exchanges about Art's cool. Recently after he had melted down I gave him some of my cool and we put "it" in his pocket, or we'll find his cool somewhere and I'll "hand" it to him. This imaginary stuff called cool is becoming an important commodity. Here are two fun ways cool came into play today.
(Melting down about not having cherries in the house or something)
Me: "Are you losing your cool?"
Art: "Yeeeaaahhh!" (wailing and starting to roll around)
Me: "Do you want some of mine?"
Art: "Nooooo! I just want my own cool!"
(After a mini-meltdown about not wanting to eat what I was making for dinner)
Me: "Hey, you lost your cool and then you got it back! Where was it?"
Art: (Thinks and looks around the kitchen for a minute.) You opened the dishwasher and it was in the dishwasher and it came back to me!"
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