3 Quick Tips to Temper Meltdowns...

3 Quick Tips to Temper Meltdowns...

Joey is climbing the walls!  Rachel is in a mood...again!!!  Keith just stormed off to his room slamming the door!  Does this sound familiar!!  Usually in our house, thankfully, it’s not all at the same time, same day maybe, but not the same time!!

How do you handle the mood swings?  When you're at your wits end and don’t have any more answers, what’s next?  What have you tried?  I know I sometimes feel I’m grasping at straws.  Now I do not have all the answers.  I always say it takes a village to raise our kids.

I can share with you a few things that we have tried.

DIET - When my oldest son was younger, we had some significant behaviors from the start.  We did the medication route, yet there was still some acting out.  Let me be real here for a moment, we still have behaviors, he has a severe mental illness.  We still use medication. 

So back when Joey was little.  It was brought to my attention about RED DYE.  With some kids red dye can escalate anger and behavior.  We eliminated the red dye from his diet, introduced it back again and immediately saw an increase of behavior.  So now he is red dye free. 

This next one is still a work in progress I admit.  I do feel like it’s something I am consciously aware of.  SUGAR!!  Yes, I know it seems like a dirty word.  Kids are kids, let them have sugar.  I do know sugar is not good for anyone ( Yes I still have sugar ) like I said, Work in Progress!!  I’ll do some research for another blog!!

What we do in our family, is usually water when we eat at home, and most times when we eat out.  If we do get a drink eating out, it’s usually tea or lemonade.  Pop is a treat!!  The kids and I get half-cut tea (half unsweet / half ) or mostly unsweet with a little sweet.  We don’t typically grab the artificial sweeteners either - I feel they are worse than real sugar!!  

Another little tip I can share is we let the kids have 1 treat a day.  One of my goals is to eliminate sugary cereals in our house!!  However, aside from that, we do one treat a day!!  Mom and Dad need to learn to follow that advice!!!  LOL!!!

NATURAL OPTIONS - Before you roll your eyes LOL, I want to say, this has been a LIFESAVER!!

We have our share of meltdowns in this house / family!!   We have used YL Essential OIls for several years now.  There are a number of oils that can be used for emotional support.  Here are a couple of favorites

The first time I saw this work, I was floored!!  My youngest was having a meltdown. Crying, screaming, ...you know how it is!!  I applied STRESS-AWAY on him and with in just a few minutes he calmed down.  

My daughter loves TRANQUIL!  She loves to roll it on her stuffed animals, hug the animal while smelling the calming oil!  This works AMAZING during a meltdown or when she has trouble going to sleep.  It gives her something to hold and she can smell it.  

DID you KNOW the olfactory nerves are the quickest way to the brain??  To the Limbic Center? The Emotional Center??  See the connection??

PRAYER -  I cannot do LIFE without prayer.  I may forget to pray, but I know my Jesus is never far away!  Prayer will not eliminate the behaviors. But the Relationship with Christ gives you the PEACE, STRENGTH and HOPE to get through your trials.  To get through your crises!   I can’t tell you how many crises we have had.  Putting my oldest in a psychiatric hospital, sending him to a residential facility because he was not safe at home.  I know I could not have had the strength to go through this JOURNEY, if it wasn’t for my relationship with Christ.

If you want to know more about having a relationship with Jesus, or if you need or want to chat and vent, send me a message!! I would love to listen and help you process!!

Til next time...