tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post5559089555357138593..comments2023-09-20T11:39:52.182-04:00Comments on Crunchy Granola: Are we having fun yet?susanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12000470374101306070noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post-89948534355256384672010-07-26T12:04:02.179-04:002010-07-26T12:04:02.179-04:00i'm reading this a couple weeks late -- sorry!...i'm reading this a couple weeks late -- sorry! but i agree that these kinds of meltdowns are more common than you might think. <br /><br />yes, they tend to happen more when kids are really tired -- and happen at home, with their parents. (which indicates they feel safe enough to fall apart at home -- but that doesn't make anyone feel better during the storm.) phantom, as always, has some excellent thoughts.<br /><br />i also disagree with your sister's idea that camp = no structure. camps have schedules, too. it is possible CG is more physically tired, and that there is a lot of stimulation that is different from school - both of which are generally good things, but might leave her more prone to big crankiness at the end of the day.<br /><br />my daughter's public presentation at CG's age was sweet, curious, active, delightful -- but she was prone to meltdowns if she was over-tired and/or in times of transition. at the beginning and end of the school year, for example, she always had periods of adjustment. same if there was a change of teacher, or if she went to a different camp for a while -- and this was true even if she was having a wonderful time.kathy a.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14479337952651746193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post-44952586828566540112010-07-09T13:09:34.161-04:002010-07-09T13:09:34.161-04:00Ah, I have no real advice, because, when the paren...Ah, I have no real advice, because, when the parenting chips are down, you know I just turn on the damn TV and lock myself in a different room until I'm fit for human company again. But, for myself, I have found it useful to go all Dame Harriet on the situation, and ask myself, "What can I control here?" If there's nothing obvious about schedules, responsibilities, mealtimes, bedtimes, you-name-it-times, then the answer is, as usual, "my own responses." Sometimes the only thing I can do, then, is to identify which of my buttons they're pushing, and how I can either disarm or manage the cascade of emotions I experience once those buttons are pushed. Then I take whatever I've figured out and talk about it with the kids: "when you do this, mama is going to respond like that, and this is what the consequence will be, and is that something you want?" It's not a fail-safe solution, but it did help LG and me reach a productive understanding about what had been constant conflict between my sensory issues and his constant fidgeting and noisemaking.<br /><br />I think the real disadvantage you work under as a working mother has nothing to do with what your sister said -- camp is hardly a lack of schedule, after all! -- but may be simply that you have a lot less slack time to tend to yourself when you could use it! Wish I could give you a little time to use entirely on yourself for awhile.Phantom Scribblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03258384756183844406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post-35015468305265168802010-07-09T10:36:37.150-04:002010-07-09T10:36:37.150-04:00(((Susan)))
Sending hugs and a small piece of ass...(((Susan)))<br /><br />Sending hugs and a small piece of assvice: Right after camp, see if you can both settle into the couch or on the porch with a cool drink or fruit and a book. Not quite a nap, but quiet time. See if that eases the overtiredness at the end of the day?Liz Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09469435277058701080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post-42051763903087961802010-07-08T22:46:40.006-04:002010-07-08T22:46:40.006-04:00I could have written this post pretty easily, two ...I could have written this post pretty easily, two years ago when we were struggling so mightily with kid anger management issues, and had not yet found the wonderful therapist that we have today. It's impossible to know if the therapy helps or if it's just maturation, but it has gotten better--and it will get better for you. But it sucks getting there, sometimes.landismomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10328094347362872558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14962422.post-20504590222069621732010-07-08T20:35:30.478-04:002010-07-08T20:35:30.478-04:00i think more people can relate than you realize!!!...i think more people can relate than you realize!!! parenting will always have its ups and downs. and yes this soon will too pass. <br />big hugs.carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06791927261732041657noreply@blogger.com