the secret to avoiding public meltdowns

roaringrock

dora the explorer fruit snacks!

they come in little bags and they're PERFECT for the uncontrollable hysterics that happen on occasion (like when we leave school -- yikes!) I keep a bunch of bags in my purse, in my car and in my coat pocket. ginny lights up when she sees dora (other characters exist as well) and we nip that wicked meltdown in the bud. just thought I'd share. toddlers can be tricky.

Christakim

Oh yes, Ella loves Dora fruit snacks.  The other ones she likes are the Toy Story ones.

BoxTer

Oh yeah, I have a fruit snack lover too. She also loves the 100 calorie packs of yogurt-covered pretzels. I always keep a stash in my purse for trips to the mall/grocery store.

keg

Boxes of raisins (particularly golden ones) are my secret weapon. :-)

howleyshell

I remember not so very long ago seeing someone shove food at their screaming toddler and thinking "Wow......  it is NOT good to use food like that with a small kid!"

 

Yeah...

 

Add that to the list of "things I said I'd never do but now do religiously"

 

We just can't do the fruit snacks because of the sugar content.  Mine do better with dried apple chips or Annie's bunnies (starch). 

 

But today?

Jace decided to HIT me when I took away a ball he was playing with in a store.  

NO clue where that came from.

Momma blew a gasket.

It was NOT pretty.

I was NOT a good Mom.

 

No snacks in the world were gonna solve that little incident.  

I'm still in replay mode trying to figure out just where I went wrong with that one.

 

muppet.fan

Hmm, I'll have to look for some fruit snacks.

In our house, Ritz crackers can usually stop any pending meltdown. I keep a baggie in the car and in the diaper bag.

pandabearlover

I was the same as Howley.  There are many things I never thought I would do to avoid a meltdown in public, especially now that I have a 14 month old that refuses to walk.  If I am carrying Carly, there is no way I can carry Betsy so we do whatever it takes to avoid me dragging her out by her arm. 

Betsy likes the princess fruit snacks. But the promise of looking at princess pictures on my cell phone usually turns the tears and the screams right off. I am just the one crying after when I have to put my icons back in the right order on my iPhone.  LOL 

qtpa2t

I thought you were going to say chloroform.  lol.

DavezWife

great idea, if you kid does not have some weird tactile thing where anything "squishy" gets rejected! lol.

I posted this on my FB status just now, but the premise bears repeating - Ava was loosing her chit in the store today, and in the middle of it all, and the glares and stares, a mom looked at me and said "hang in there momma!" with a smile.

Man that made my day brighter. So sweet. I motion we ALL start spreading that around a lil' more. Support our moms dealing with insane donut-wanting toddlers. lol.  And perhaps share our fruit snacks with the offending parties.

ha.

CHI-06

DavezWife:

I motion we ALL start spreading that around a lil' more. Support our moms dealing with insane donut-wanting toddlers. lol.  And perhaps share our fruit snacks with the offending parties.

Love it!

...and fruit snacks work on me when I'm crabby too

kianew

howleyshell:

But today?

Jace decided to HIT me when I took away a ball he was playing with in a store.  

NO clue where that came from.

Momma blew a gasket.

It was NOT pretty.

I was NOT a good Mom.

 

No snacks in the world were gonna solve that little incident.  

I'm still in replay mode trying to figure out just where I went wrong with that one.

 

Yikes!  Not good.  Dylan is in a hitting mode right now too, on occasion, if he doesn't get something he wants and it's not a good thing with me either. 

We always keep fruit snacks handy in case of a meltdown - never fails to stop it

Mrs.Reem

We use fruit snacks for after naptime grumpies. Katen flips out worse when her sugar is low. Those bring it up in a hurry!  lol

howleyshell

qtpa2t:

I thought you were going to say chloroform.  lol.

Priceless.

And were it even remotely legal and not CPS worthy I swear I would have used some today.