I don’t do well with tantrums. I know there isn’t a parent alive who enjoys it when their child ends up face-down on the grocery store floor because they can’t have CocoCrunch, but my daughters’ meltdowns leave me feeling angry and depleted as I desperately scour the kitchen for a handful of chocolate to shove in my face. My husband, in-laws, and friends all seem to have a way of staying calm through the freak-outs that I just don’t have, even though I’ve written two books on mindfulness and parenting. I’ve worked hard over the years to learn how to breathe my way through stressful moments, and I’ve gotten a bit better at keeping my own Mommy meltdowns at bay. But as they say, a good defense is the best offense, so my husband and I have spent a lot of time figuring out how to maintain peace in our home as often as possible. Here are a few practices that have been helpful with our girls (ages 7 and 5).
You can read the rest of this post over at the On Parenting Blog on the Washington Post.
