Worst time of the day and working mother anger check

The worst time of day during the week is when you arrive home at half past four. The house is in a bit of a mess after we left it in a whirl in the morning. That needs some cleaning and straightening, and dinner needs to be prepared. Add a tired mother and a clingy demanding toddler and it gets a bit tricky...

I found myself last week screaming talking very loud when the toddler as usual was “washing dishes” with me. She was wet and the floor was wet... I saw the look of utter amazement of her face when I lost my cool! “What’s the matter, Mom?” or, more specifically “WTF?” “What is the BIG deal?”

CodeNameMama had a great article about awareness in anger last week. It came at exactly the right time! To become aware of the anger, to know where it is coming from, and to channel it correctly...

I did things differently from there! When the toddler wants to wash dishes with me, it is totally okay. I have decided not to freak out! What is a bit of water in the greater scheme of things? We take off her clothes for the duration of the washing session, and put it back on afterwards. And then dry the floor as well! It is not a train smash!

The biggest bonus! The playing with the water keeps the toddler occupied for a relative long period. Enough to get the dishwasher unpacked, and the dinner started...

How do you cope with suicide hour?

The T-dance - the toddler and tantrums

The toddler goes into tantrum meltdown a couple of times a day. I like to call it the T-dance. The face goes into a wail. She stamps her feet. The very LOUD shriek!

Shame! It must be so very frustrating not to be able to communicate. Or to find that not everything goes according to “Toddler”! The toddler begins to realize that her universe does not revolve around herself... Come to think of it... It must be a huge shock!

We try mostly to redirect her attention. As soon as she is focused on something else, all is well again. It usually happens within a split second!

At the moment she loves “washing the dishes” with us. As soon as she sees that one of us is busy in the kitchen, she starts by moving the foot rest that we usually use for her to stand on. When we try to tell her that we are not busy washing the dishes, she goes into the T-dance. But when we start playing ball with her, or show her the horsey to ride on, all is well again...

I do not think the tantrums are such a problem that everybody says it is. Maybe we are lucky that Mieka does not go into complete meltdown. A friend complains that her son hits his head against the wall! That sounds a bit scary. We try not to let her T-dance for too long before we help her to focus her attention on something else. I think that is a good way of dealing with the Tantrum! We tell her “No!”, and “That’s not nice!” We don’t give her a hiding or discipline her in any other way when she has a tantrum. I don’t think it is necessary, and so far it has worked!

What is other ways of dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum?

Related posts:
The toddler is 20 months
The shriek