Melt Away a Meltdown

Have you ever been so filled with intense emotion that you couldn’t think straight? Logic goes out the window and you feel out of control. Someone tells you to calm down and you become more enraged. This happens to children too! 

Before a child can learn to self-regulate, they must first be taught through co-regulation with an attachment figure. Bonding and attachment are critical in developing emotional insight and a secure sense of self. The most critical attachment cycles occur during the first 2 years of life. Secure attachment comes from caregiver responsiveness to our physical, social, and emotional needs. 

How do we respond appropriately?

Responding to children’s behavior and emotional needs can be difficult. Caregivers often get distracted by the external behavior and miss the emotional needs underneath. But we can learn to see past the behavior and identify what the child needs in the moment; whether it be comfort, organization of feelings, validation, and/or empathy. Here are some helpful tips:

1. Get down on their level
2. Reflect/label their feelings
3. Validate their experience
4. Don’t try to problem solve or lecture- this is not the time where learning takes place
5. Be with them during their emotional experience- let them know they are safe and not alone
6. Never try to talk children out of their feelings
7. Change the sensory environment
8. Co-regulate- give them space but be available for comfort; slow down your breathing, keep a calm tone of voice, model a sense of calm

Because Life is All About Connections

Life Connections provides in-home Behavioral Health Intervention services, Therapy services, autism (ABA) services and Children’s Mental Health waiver services in our 13 office locations and approved schools across Iowa. Life Connections was founded in March of 2009 with the intent to serve the children and families of Cedar Rapids and surrounding cities.

Life Connections is a highly professional and caring counseling and behavioral health provider. We offer a wide array of services to treat mental health issues including Applied Behavior Analysis Services, anxiety treatment, Behavioral Health Intervention Services, Family and Community Support (FCS) Providers, depression treatment, family therapy, marriage and couples counseling, mental health therapy, school-based therapy programs, and Tele-Mental Health. 

For more information, please call 319-409-6922. 

Resources:

• National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-273-8255
• Crisis Text line text to 741741
• The Trevor Project – for LGBTQ+ young adult community 866-488-7386
• Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network 800-656-4673