Transitions - Sarah | Zero Patience - Reagan
The group session continues, first with Sarah, and then with Reagan. Sarah returns from episode 3 and Reagan from episode 5.
Sarah returns triumphant after taking Maribeth’s advice from the previous session, applying it at home, and seeing immediate results from her son who was being defiant. This time, Sarah asks Maribeth for advice about transitions away from screen time. Her son, Evan, has a tantrum every time he’s told that his time on the iPad is over. Despite five minute warnings, he loses it, throws things, and ends up being punished because he’s so upset that his screen time is over.
Maribeth tells Sarah that Evan needs help shifting his brain out of iPad time. She tells Sarah to join Evan when there is five or ten minutes left, give him physical touch, nd engage with him until his time is up. When time is up, ask him to turn it off himself. He may still struggle at first, but if she continues to talk him through it, and possibly adjust he timing until he reacts better, he should learn to manage the transition better.
Next, Maribeth speaks with Reagan. Reagan was still unable to solve the mystery of why her son Charlie has such a negative reaction to his sister Olivia chewing. In fact, Olivia has started mimicking his behavior and is reacting to Charlie chewing and they begin fighting. Maribeth encourages Reagan to stay out of their arguments. Do not go in and referee, just let it play out. They will learn important skills about dealing with others, and Reagan will save valuable energy.
Reagan is also struggling to keep her cool. She has three children under five, two dogs, and has been dealing with health issues. She’s finding that her patience is running thin. Maribeth encourages her to slow things down, find ways to take time for herself, hire a dog walker, and demonstrate to her children that she is taking time for herself to learn self-care by example. Maribeth believes that if Reagan just removes herself from her kids’ fights, she will be a lot less stressed out.
