I have a screamer. My beloved middle daughter has a habit of making sure everyone on the eastern seaboard knows that she is displeased with something. It could be anything from no getting her way while playing with her sisters to a minuscule scratch on her hand to someone calling her to dinner. She is not happy and EVERYONE knows.
Our habit has been to pick her up (as a 4 year old, that is getting to be tough) and placing her into her room which causes another round of screaming, kicking and various protesting.
Today was my work day. The moment I walked in the house that atmosphere seemed to get charged with negative energy. What was I bringing with me? The girls stopped playing and started yelling; frustrating me and causing me to wish I would have stayed at the church just a bit longer.
I was trying to help get dinner on the table when it happened. My beloved daughter let out a blood curdling scream in the playroom. I felt the tension (already present in me) escalate dramatically as I went into the playroom, but for some reason I didn't respond as I felt I wanted to... instead I said...
"Did someone lose a leg in here?"
Both girls paused, looked strangely at me and burst into laughter. In a spirit of laughter we were able to talk about how Grace could use that scream any time she lost a limb or even a toe. Ah Ha... so that's what diffusing a situation looks like.
So for one day and one battle, laughter won!
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