Evangeline came home having a massive tantrum the other day, so I sat down with her for a bit.

[conuly]

Here's a nifty trick. I often see people who have tantrummy kids trying, frantically, to keep them from kicking either the parents or the seat in front of them.

And this is what they do. If they're standing, they hold the kid under the armpits and put their other arm on the top of the kid's knees, and if they're sitting they do the same thing, but, you know, sitting.

This isn't very effective. The kid is still able to get in a few good kicks, and if you're standing they're also able to wiggle down and possibly out. If they fall and bump their butt in a tantrum they're REALLY be unhappy.

Hopefully, this doesn't come up very often, but sometimes you have to get from here to there without being kicked - either in the shins or off the bus. So this is what you do:

Put ONE arm around the kid's chest, under the armpits. Put the OTHER arm *under* the kid's legs. If you're walking, put them directly under the kid's knees so that the knees are higher than the butt. The kid can't wiggle out this way, and kicks will go harmlessly up into the air. If you're sitting, put that arm slightly lower, under the kid's calves. Kicks will go harmlessly up into the air (and not rebound onto your legs), and you'll also be able to maneuver better to avoid being headbutted.

Evangeline eventually did calm down, though this time we never did find out what was upsetting her. She kept saying NONONONONONONO!, but it's hard to deal with that when you don't know what she's saying no to.

In other news, Ana currently has 4 teeth out of her mouth, and another one or two loose. This has got to be some kind of record. The teeth that are coming in are HUGE. She already had big teeth! I suppose it's going to compensate for the few weeks she's spending more or less toothless. She just came into my room to inform me that the Tooth Fairy can take a vacation, LOL. I told her it's her mom's turn to be the Tooth Fairy.

Comments

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

We call that hold a farmer's bend, and it's also done to kids for the fun of it.

[conuly]

It also is fun, sure :) But... not when they're screaming, fussing, and generally being a pain.

[velvetchamber.livejournal.com]

Obviously not, then nothing is fun.

[failstoexist.livejournal.com]

In my old job, that was called "the scoop" and was the only way to get a kid out of a dangerous situation. like if they dropped to the ground in a pile of snow and refused to move while getting wet and cold. or if they were in the middle of the main hallway.

Fairly effective, though. My job now we do different ones, but I'm partial to the scoop.