How Not To Lose Your Temper

Every Mom can relate to this scenario. You’re running late to get to your child’s PTA meeting. You just scarfed down your dinner and now your running around trying to stuff your kids into their shoes and jackets. You can’t find your keys and the phone is ringing. Just then, your two year old emits the odor of a dirty diaper. You freak out because you really don’t have time to change it but you can’t pretend no one is going to smell your kid at the meeting. You’ve reached your breaking point and you’re about to yell at everyone is sight. You don’t have to lose your temper. There’s a better way. Losing your temper not only scares everyone around you, but it also makes you more stressed out than you have to be. If you do yell, you’ll raise your blood pressure, get more upset and end up probably even feeling guilty for losing your cool. Try this trick instead. Good old-fashioned empathy. Put yourself in your children’s place and think about how they would feel if a big, old mean adult was screaming at them for no reason whatsoever. You are mad at the clock, and maybe even  yourself, but you aren’t angry with them. Close your eyes and take some time to picture the scenario and by the time you realize that you’ll accomplish nothing by losing your temper, you probably will have calmed down. Change your toddler’s diaper and get to the meeting, which probably wont start on time anyway, with everyone’s composure in tact.