Wednesday, June 10, 2009

A word about...Tantrums

I knew there would come a day when we'd think..."remember when she couldn't talk? WHAT A DISTANT MEMORY"!

Yeah. E is quite vocal...so much so, that almost nightly, she blows up about something. She is four years old. Tonight it was that she wanted to use the hairdryer. She NEVER uses the hairdryer! She'll cry/scream for 20-30 minutes, which means by the time she's calmed down and actually asleep, it's up to an hour past her bedtime.

E is also all about the word "no"--even when she means yes. EVERY PHRASE STARTS WITH NO. Where does that come from?

She doesn't hit or bite. She rarely throws things. She does scream her head off, and then revisit the subject of said crying/screaming 30 minutes later and can start it all over again. Jason and I think she's so vocal with her tantrums b/c her physical mobility is limited (no kicking, or running, although she will bang on her door if we shut it b/c she is screaming).

I'm ready for the (almost) nightly tantrums to end...just in time for the little sister to start them, no?

4 comments:

Chrystie said...

I wanted to introduce myself! I just came across your blog and I can't believe how many similarities our girls have! My daughter, Ellie (even similar names!) also has SDCP and was born at 33 weeks. She also just turned 4. We're in the "evaluation process" for a possible SDR surgery. Both our E's are pretty cute and amazing, I'd say!

My daughter also throws a good tantrum. I think she cries more than a typical four-year-old, but I don't have many "yardsticks" to compare to. I absolutely believe that Ellie cries and screams more because she's unable to express herself physically. Also, she's frustrated because she WANTS her body to move, but it doesn't listen. It's not my favorite thing by any means, but, like you, I just have to remind myself that we're so blessed that she's able to verbally communicate. Several of her CP friends in therapy are non-verbal, and I know their moms would LOVE for them to scream "NOOOOO!" I have to remind myself of that when I feel like pulling out my hair!

Feel free to check out my blog (the address should be in my profile) or email me at chrystiekb@gmail.com . It'd be great to communicate further!

Your baby is BEAUTIFUL!!

Chrystie

Michelle said...

I was a foster mom for children with special needs for 17 years. This seems to be the norm for many of them. We used quiet time and/or calm music to help. Also, many of our kids needed to keep things the same on a daily basis, and be for-warned, a week, a day and an hour before something new was going to happen. This helps a lot.

Holly said...

Our daughter Caleigh has started throwing quit the fits lately. I posed the same questions on my blog about a month ago. Everyone seems to think it's normal behavior though.

We'll see if it's just a phase!

Emily is just adorable!

Mary Harwell said...

I found your blog not too long ago and have checked it daily to remind myself that I am not alone. My son Jack is 2 and has SDCP. We are dealing with a similar question. Terrible two's or special needs child? Jack throws tantrums that last for 20 minutes or until I can get him focused on something else. He gets very frustrated and angry and often it seems like it is because he cannot get his body to cooperate. Jack hits himself and throws things. My mother teaches preschool and has for 35 years and says that this is not just the terrible 2's. So, my vote is, special needs childs have more frustrations and fewer ways to express them.
Elena is precious!