a good week

[Bewildered]

It's been an entire week since difficult child's last meltdown. I took away her swim lesson and fun day at the swim park after her last one, then only allowed the swim lesson the next day , the following day she was allowed to stay and play for a few hours after her lesson as a reward for better behavior. She was invited to a sleepover birthday party, her first, and I told her that she would absolutely not be allowed to go if she had one more outburst. She held up her end and was allowed to go. We feared a meltdown the next day due to lack of sleep, but I convinced her to take a nap after I picked her up and she readily complied. When she woke from her nap, I had to deliver the sad news that her grandfather had passed away the day before. This had been coming for some time and was somewhat expected, but I was not sure if the news would stir her emotions to a breaking point. She had a good cry, and I'm sure there will be more, but she did not lash out at us. She has come very close to going over the edge several times, (with my stomach in knots each time), but each time we were able to avoid the meltdown by asking her to think about where her emotions were going. Many times she tried to work herself into a good fit for no good reason, and each time she managed to listen to reason and worked herself back down.
I hope I'm not jynxing myself right now, but I'm very grateful for the relatively peaceful week and very proud of my little girl!

 

[smallworld]

Sounds like progress! May it continue.