Succulent Therapy

. . . in which I reveal one of my secret strategies for defusing a wicked bad tantrum

Step One: Notice a grumpy child who is very tired from playing in the water but won't take a nap. Introduce plant polishing. Take pictures for a blog post.

I always wanted to try this with Cricket and today was the perfect day.  She was in the middle of a world-class tantrum and I don't blame her. 95 degrees and playing in the sprinklers at summer camp can wear on the best of us. She needed a calm activity and I needed my plants dusted. Win-win; zen-zen.

Step Two: Find a dusty jade; you know you have at least one. Put it on the floor. Get a dust cloth and sit on the floor next to said dusty plant. Wordlessly, start polishing.

When I started polishing the plant in complete quiet, ignoring Cricket's  flailing and crying, she was quite irritated that I wasn't feeding into her tantrum.  Then she started watching me intently and slowly began calming down. Then she wanted to try it herself.

Step Three: Show your child - who has taken a keen interest by this time - how to dust the plant. Step back and watch. Take some more pictures for your blog. Then share your wisdom, now that you know it worked.

After I looked at the photos I was amazed at how Cricket's face softened and she moved closer to the plants and further away from her tantrum.