Managing Child Meltdowns from 18 months to 4 years – Live Zoom sessions

If you have a toddler or a preschooler in your home then I would be confident that at some time, probably many times, you have been faced with your child having a Tantrum. It can be frustrating, annoying and upsetting to see your child fall apart in front of you for what often seems like a very small event. They often arise at inconvenient times, maybe just before you are due to go out, or maybe getting into the car seat or leaving the park as it is time for dinner.

I prefer the term “Meltdown” to Tantrums – I feel that Meltdown explains more clearly what is going on within your child. A Tantrum is kind of a mini-meltdown. You can help your child get over them fairly quickly with prompting, distraction and support. In a meltdown, however, the body literally shuts down, wanting to escape the “threat” that it perceives. During these instances, children will lose total control of themselves, their body and mind is unable to rationalise, hear or respond to us and they are completely running on emotion.

I feel that if, as parents, we can understand what is happening ‘behind the scenes’ then we can help prepare children to deal with these ‘perceived threats’ and teach some tools and skills that, with practice, will help children self-regulate their emotions. If we always just deal with a meltdown with punishment, we are losing the opportunity to develop a child’s awareness of their body and emotions.

If you would like to develop some skills to manage meltdowns with your 18 month – 4 year old child then please contact Julie to discuss attending a future session.

Tickets are £15 per person or couple and include a 1-1, 20-minute follow-up session with Julie which can be scheduled to suit you.