Too much screaminig.....

[delighted.mama]

My 2.5 year old dd has one set of lungs on her. It seems like she is much more likely to belt out an ear splitting scream than my older dd did at the same age. I try to tell her quietly but firmly that we don't scream....I've tried to mirror what I think she is feeling (i.e. "I know that you are frustrated that you can't have another popscicle") I end up resorting to sharply, sometimes raising my voice, telling her to simply stop it. That's the only thing that seems to work. She's stop right away but then she gets aggressively angry and runs into another room.

Any suggestions? What do you all do? DD #1 had a different personality than dd #2, and some of my mommy-tools that worked with her don't with the younger one. Any suggestions are appreciated. THANKS!

[LilyGrace]

What about getting down very low next to her and speaking as quietly as you can near her ear. I used to mix up empathetic statements with random silliness - they have to be quiet for a few seconds to hear what you're saying, and words like "elephant" "flamingo" "flick flack flap jack" catch their attention surprisingly well. - giving you a few moments to get in the important words.

[elizawill]

instead of yelling (which is oh so tempting to do sometimes!!), i instead will lower my voice (like an octive lower) and speak in that tone calmly and firmly. i kind of sound like a 12 year old kid in person (telemarketers ask if my mom is home! and i'm 36 ha ha!). i think lowering my voice sounds different & my kids respond to it. of course, i apply GD in other ways....other than trying to talk like a man that is it was just a quick suggestion i wanted to throw out....it's not my first pick of advice for you by any means....it just beats yelling at your cuties - so i thought i'd share.

[elizawill]

Originally Posted by LilyGrace

What about getting down very low next to her and speaking as quietly as you can near her ear. I used to mix up empathetic statements with random silliness - they have to be quiet for a few seconds to hear what you're saying, and words like "elephant" "flamingo" "flick flack flap jack" catch their attention surprisingly well. - giving you a few moments to get in the important words.

i love this, and will need to try it with my kids ASAP! i'm sure tomorrow will present itself an opportunity for usage!

another thing i do is i'll say real firm and serious...."don't you dare smile...oh no....you had better not smile young lady. don't you dare!" it always cracks my dd up, and she can't help but start smiling and laughing....no matter how mad she is. it pretty much ticks my son off bad though....ha ha, so we don't use that technique on him

[delighted.mama]

Thanks mamas I'll have to try the quiet voice. I used to do that with dd#1 and it worked well. I think my patience and tolerance has gone down a notch, while my voice has gone up a notch with dd#2. I definitely need to re-group and start from some GD basics. Thanks!!