The Invisible Three Year Old

My daughter began having temper tantrums when she was about three years old.  As any mom who has had an experience with one of these blowouts, they are hard to handle, especially when your little one blasts one out in public.  My little cherub was a follower of the tantrum mentality and I was getting tired of them.  I had tried all sorts of remedies to calm my screaming child, from trying to relieve the overload, talking low and calm, to picking her up in the grocery store and carrying her around under my arm like a sack of potatoes.   None of them worked to help her through her system overload or just wanting- to-get-her-way blow-outs. 

This is her when she was invisible

One day, however, I stumbled upon a cure.  We were in the family room and she wanted one thing or another and I was busy (and she wasn’t going to get what it was she wanted).   Kablam!  Full kicking, screaming, hitting her fists on the floor, crying tantrum.  I first tried to calmly speak to her about her behavior, because this was about getting something that she couldn’t have.  She screamed louder.  Then I, over her screams, loudly said ‘I don’t want to hear this nonsense anymore.  I’m going to make you invisible so I don’t have to listen to or see your tantrum.’   I waved my arms, said a few random, ‘magical’ words and ended it with wiggling my fingers at her and loudly saying ‘Abracadabra, I will make my daughter invisible!’.

Did my plan work?  Well, not at first.  She continued on with her show.  I just put my hands on my hips and said ‘Ahhhh peace and quiet finally’ (louder crying).  I stepped over her like I didn’t see her and went into the kitchen saying things like ‘oh, this quiet is so peaceful'.  I started singing, did a little waltz across the floor (she, still carrying on, but watching me).  I started putting dishes away and hummed all the way through it.  Little by little she started to quiet down.  Every once in a while I’d put my finger on my chin and eyes to the air and say ‘Hmmmmm, I wonder how Whitney’s doing’  and ‘Hmmm, I wonder if Whitney is still having a temper tantrum’ and followed it by ‘Oh well, at least I can’t see or hear her’. 

Not too long after the magical spell was cast, she slowly got up and started following me.  Her crying had stopped.  She then started tugging on my shirt.  ‘Ma, ma, mommy’.  I still ignored her and just continued to move about the kitchen a few more minutes.  ‘Ma?  Mommy?’  I think she was becoming a little nervous that I did, indeed, turn her invisible (hehehehe).  Then once again, with my thoughtful look, I said ‘Hmmm, I wonder how Whitney is, I’d better check on her’.  I waved my arms, said a few mumbo jumbo words, wiggled my fingers and said ‘Abracadabra, make my daughter reappear’.  And…she reappeared!

She was still holding onto my shirt looking up at me, I feigned shocked happiness (the happiness was real at least) and told her how happy I was to see her and was glad that she had stopped the tantrum and that it made me unhappy when she had them.  Then we hugged and I kissed her like she was gone for so long and I missed her so much.

That was the last temper tantrum she ever had!!!   Score for me!