Screaming Tantrums

That title doesn't sound very comforting, does it? LOL!

The other night the kids and I were all playing on the living room floor. I can't even remember now WHAT we were doing... wait a second, Calli just reminded me. We were playing cards. We played Go Fish, then Hearts several times, then I showed her how to play War and then Slap Jack. The Slap Jack game got pretty rowdy and a little vicious with lots of screetching and laughing-until-you-cry moments. Having lost the last game, Calli went into a bit of a pouty attitude and threw a very controlled mock-tantrum, lying on the floor kicking and hitting her fists on the floor.

This was highly amusing to me since my kids don't REALLY do this, ever. So I egged her on, saying, "Oh, that's a pitiful tantrum! You can do better than that!" And she took me up on the challenge. Screaming at the top of her lungs, throwing things, kicking things... totally out of control. (Well, not totally.) I was laughing so hard I couldn't sit up and in between the screams she was giggling, too. It was really interesting.

After maybe 10 minutes or so of full-blown craziness, I told her to bring it back down to a sane level; that was fun, but we're done now. She did, no problem, and broke down into hysterical giggles. Once things had calmed down I was more than a little surprised at the outcome: she thanked me (over and over again) for letting her do that! She continued to thank me into the next day, even! And she was noticeably calmer afterward, being exceptionally patient with her little brother.

Just goes to show that a safe outburst now and then would do us all good! LOL!!