Episode 1: While in Illinois, the girls and I, went traveling all over to visit with family and friends. One day we decided to visit my Aunt Teresa, who had a house full of girls for Kiley to play with. What an easy and fun afternoon this will be, so I thought. After visiting for a while, all of us drove less than a mile over to my cousin's house so that the girls could go swimming. Within minutes, Kiley was screaming and crying. Wow! That is not what I expect to happen. She usually plays so well with others and I wanted her to have a good time. What was the problem? Come to find out, Kiley wanted this "blue cup" that was attached to the filter in the pool. The crying and screaming escalated. " I want the blue cup!" I tried all the usual techniques; showing her the cup and explaining why she could not have it, time-out, offering other things to distract her, tapping her on the butt...45minutes of this and I still could not calm her down. She was a mess, and so was I! My Aunt Teresa tried to help ,with 5 grown kids of her own and 8 grandchildren, she would calm her down for sure! Nope, Kiley was not going to have it. I was extremely embarrassed, I had never seen Kiley act like this before. My cousin, Heather, tried to give her every cup in her house to replace the blue cup she wanted, again Kiley refused.
I could not do it anymore, I grabbed up my stuff and off to the car we went. Kiley was now, kicking, screaming, crying and still wanting that darn blue cup! I continued to think, " this is NOT my child! I did not raise her to act like this!" Embarrassed, exhausted and not knowing what was going on with my child who was still acting like a fool, I called my husband so that he too could enjoy the pleasant noise my daughter was offering us. He was baffled himself! Finally, she cried herself to sleep. However, when she woke up and and later when I put her to bed, she continued say, "Mommy, I really wanted that blue cup!".
Episode 2, 6 days later: While in Illinois, we also took a day to go to the St. Louis Zoo. I was delighted that both my sisters where able to join us with my niece and nephew and my mom. Also, my Aunt Sherry and a friend of hers was able to come along too. The day turned out beautiful, and we were having a great time at the zoo. Until lunch, that is when Kiley snapped again. This time we were picnicking and the wind blew a paper plate off our blanket. Kiley flipped. She started picking up everything AFRAID it would all blow away. At first, it was a little funny. But then she went to extremes, taking every ones plate (whether they were finished or not) and then she started putting everything in the coolers, including the trash. She was really terrified that these items were going to blow way! Her heart was pounding and the look on her face was that of some real concern. Luckily, everyone was almost finished. We quickly put most things away. However, I was upset that she was acting this way. I tried to console her, but I couldn't even get her attention. She was absolutely frantic! I took her to the car, again she kicked and scream. After she calmed down, we returned to the picnic and she stared taking everyone's drink and tossing it into the cooler. She was terrified that everything was going to blow away. Quickly, we gathered our items and decided to return to the zoo. She was fine. Again, I was embarrassed and upset. However, this time I really felt like she was scared. I was also thinking she was a little OCD! In my mind, I was worried and how do you continue to go places worrying that at any minute she may freak out?
Is this normal for a 2, almost 3 year old? I don't know. I do know that it is embarrassing and out of my control when she snaps!
Things we have noticed to avoid her meltdowns:
At the pool:
Kiley will worry about the floaties and toys that are unattended. We work really hard to keep them out of the pool if they are not in use. She will not stop worrying that about the toys until they are out on the side of the pool. She can not get over the fear of them going down the drain....maybe this was what was bothering her about the blue cup in episode 1?!?! We are working hard on trying to explain to her that the toys float! She is getting better, be we are very aware of the toys and try hard to keep everyone happy!
Also she prefers a clean pool ( no bugs, leaves, or toys!), and will clean it if it is not up to her standards. OCD?
Eating Out:
We noticed that she would not eat her chips and salsa the other day at a restaurant of her choice. Why? Because we were out on the deck, and she didn't want her crayons, menu or drink to blow away. We ended up moving inside, so that we could at least eat in peace. However, throughout the entire meal, Kiley talked to us about the wind blowing.
For those of you that plan on play-dates and trips, please be kind to us as we are trying to get though this crazy time. Any suggestions?
