What I Do First When My Child Melts Down

Years in, the thing that worked was not explaining more, but turning the rules into a routine the child can predict.

What we actually manage to keep doing

• A three-step bedtime routine — same order every night
• Offer two choices instead of giving one order
• Regulate yourself first; the tantrum follows your tone

Kids rarely remember what you said, they remember your face when you said it.

Writing it down mostly so I do not forget these years.