Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tips for Tuesday- Keep Your Cool

Let me paint a picture for you. It's 7:30pm, your child should be asleep, but he's not, he's been fussy and cranky all day. You're waiting for your husband to come home so that you can go grocery shopping for this week's dinner but he is nowhere to be found. You try to clip coupons but the little one rips the circulars from your hands, frustrated you move to the other side of the room. Five minutes later, you hear a loud crash and see that your favorite floor lamp has been pulled to the ground and shattered by your precious child. He is safe, but your lamp is beyond repair.

Is this hard to imagine? It shouldn't be because it is a true life experience of what my day was like today. So what did I do? I did the best I could. I put my son in his crib so he wouldn't walk into the broken glass, and cleaned up for a bit. I was still really frustrated so I let my son hang out for awhile in his crib still, not very happy but safe. When I calmed down and finished cleaning up, I took him out and brought him grocery shopping playing some of my favorite tunes along the way.

It helped a great deal and if you were reading closely you can pull out some good "Keep Your Cool" tips from my experience today:

1- Remember 90% of the time, whatever it is that's frustrating you was just an accident and what's done is done.
2- Keep your child in a safe place and take some time for yourself
3- Listen to some music that helps you with your feelings, and then switch to something relaxing. Personally, I go from Taking Back Sunday to Missy Higgins. i love them both
4- Take your mind off of it. Go grocery shopping, to the library, somewhere you enjoy and can focus on something else.
5- Exercise. Running, yoga, cycling, all of these are great stress relievers and help you get rid of extra negative energy.

Also, don't underestimate the power of deep breathing, and even just talking to yourself to sort out your feelings and work out your next step.

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