![]() ![]() So, we can control our emotional brain a little better than kids can. But, the adult brain is fully developed (if you’re over 25 that is). This happens in adults and children alike. ![]() This part of the brain controls our emotions. When we get upset, our brains are functioning in it’s more primitive brain or the limbic system. Seems like magic huh? The trick is knowing how the emotional brain works. Then I ask him to look around and to put away any Duplo bricks that aren’t being used and starts to clean. Together, we find the perfect place for them to go. I explain to him that I know how important his inventions are and that he can keep them out as long as he’d like to. When he’s done, I ask him to sit in my lap. With a huge smile on his face, he does it again. “Two blue, three blue, four blue, five blue! I got 5 blue things, Mama!” His cries stop and he starts smiling as he goes. ![]() Slowly he walks over to his Duplo bin and says “this is blue….one.” He continues walking through his room pointing out all the blue things. He hiccups in sorrow but looks around the room. Can you point out 5 things that are blue?” His tear-filled blue eyes look up at me and he nods. I whisper to him “Hey buddy, do you want to play a little game really quick? It will be fun.” I put my hands on his shoulders so that we’re face to face. So, I think back to my days as a therapist and I pull out my #1 favorite calm down tip for kids. He can’t calm down enough to understand what I’m trying to tell him. His brain is being so flooded with emotion that he literally can’t think straight. This kid is so upset that he can’t hear me. I ask him to only put away the extra bricks that aren’t being used. So I try to tell him that he gets to keep his inventions. I was just asking that he put away all the extra bricks that weren’t being played with. I wasn’t asking him to take apart his inventions. It’s all he’s played with for days.Īnd here I am, asking him to put away his Duplo.īut there’s been a miscommunication problem here. He spends hours getting them just right and even more hours playing with each and every one. My boy has spent all week long building inventions out of Duplos. Impatiently, I hold my boy a little longer and ask him again to tell me why he’s crying.īetween the hiccups and wails, I hear him say something about his inventions. All I want him to do is put away the random bricks laying around the room, it’s not that big of a deal. I drop to my knees and pull him into a big hug and say “Hey buddy, it won’t take too long to put away the Duplos…” his loud cries interrupt me. “Kiddo, I don’t understand why you’re so upset, can you tell me why you’re so sad?” He looks at me and bawls harder. My 4 year old stands there bawling in the middle of his room.Īll I did was ask him to put away the Duplo bricks that have been haphazardly strewn all across his room, and he loses it. If you’ve ever tried to help a crying kid calm down, this might sound familiar to you. ![]()
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