Our third child taught us all kinds of new things beyond dealing with hangry. (Oh, did you miss that entertaining discussion? You can check it out here.)
My mention of stopping a tantrum in its tracks raised a lot of questions. Yes, we had attempted all the “tried and true” methods (after all, third kid, not our first rodeo), but she was a different, fabulous personality. The only thing that worked to calm her down was Joy. Yep, it’s very aptly named. There were times she was really upset that we had to convince her to rub it over her heart, but on other days she would recognize the feeling, grab the bottle, and put a drop or two on herself.
After seeing how well Joy worked and how much our little one liked using oils by herself, we decided to give her a set of oils that would all be her own, teach her how to use them, and leave them in a place her little hands could reach. Two quickly became her faves: Owie and TummyGize.
An active childhood comes with lots of bumps and bruises earned through fun times, plus the occasional skinned knee or elbow. Our daughter kept Owie close at hand and dripped it on as needed. She also quickly realized that a day of roller coasters or eating too much junk with her grandparents meant she needed a drop of two of TummyGize in her belly button to calm a tummy that was topsy turvy.
She learned that Sleepyize in her Feather the Owl diffuser at night meant she would have good rest and the nightmares stayed away. Days spent in falling leaves or spring flowers blooming had her rubbing Snifflease on her chest. The greatest gift as parents was watching her intuitively know what her body needed and that she had the confidence to use it.
Maybe it was because she started using essential oils on her own at such a young age, but GeneYus was the last one she grabbed. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t put it to good use! Once she hit school age and figured out how much this blend diffused helped her brain during lesson times, it quickly moved up her favorite list.
We don’t have KidPower yet, but it is already on her wish list, especially once she heard it smells like Orange Creamsicle. Knowing that it helps kids balance their emotions, especially considering the difficult time we are all enduring, makes it a blend the rest of our house wants, too.
Those are simply the highlights of why we love these KidScents oils. When you are ready to hear more about our journey, recipes, and other fun ideas, you are welcome to join our entertaining FB group. For those ready to jump in with both feet, here you go!
The other cool thing is that we use all of these oils on our pets, too, and we we have some great bonus tips on that.
Have questions? Ready to learn more? I'd love to chat!
The other day, someone mentioned their hangry child to me. I said, “Oh, I feel ya! We went through that with our youngest, and it was so great to find tips to help her, especially the ones that made her recognize the signs for herself as a toddler.” The other person gave me this bewildered look like I had discovered world peace, so I thought maybe I should share the “tricks of the trade” in case I can spare some other parents from the epic HANGRY meltdown.
Our third child came out of the womb ready to rock and roll. She wanted to learn from and explore everything, and making time to stop for something as silly as eating was not her idea of fun. Sure, when I was breastfeeding, she was captive and I could get her to eat. Once she weaned herself, that all changed. I quickly learned to keep track of how often she ate, and I started trying out different ways to get a toddler to recognize her hangry signs. After lots of trial and error, here are the three things that worked for us.
1. Feed the Child
Okay, if you are going DUH right now, you’ve never experienced a hangry child. They get themselves so worked up and distraught that they pitch a full on fit about eating, even when that is exactly what their little bodies need. I learned to make sure my child had a small, healthy snack every 2-3 hours. I kept easily portable options in the diaper bag and my pocketbook for unknown occasions. Perhaps most importantly, I taught her the “one bite” rule: even if she didn’t want to eat, I needed her to take one bite of something, or we would have to stop whatever fun activity we were doing. That one bite was usually enough to make her body and mind realize she needed more, and the meltdown was averted.
2. Communicate the Feeling
Every parent knows how hard it is not to lose your own cool when your little one has a tantrum. If both sides find a way to communicate with each other, you can easily deal with your hangry one. The first step is for the adult to recognize the signs and verbalize to the child “your body needs some food” (or whatever you want to say.) This will help the toddler put thoughts to the feeling, even if they aren’t verbal. In fact, we used sign language with her because she didn’t have the words yet to tell us about emotions and a rumbly tumbly. Empowering her with communication made a big difference!
3. Finding Emotional Support
This was the game-changer for us. If you’ve ever been hangry, you know it makes your emotions topsy-turvy, too. Imagine being a little kid and not knowing why you suddenly feel so distraught, angry, or upset. You can give your child a quiet place in the house to sit and try to calm down (after you’ve tried the above recommendations), and you can teach them calm breathing/mediation techniques. For us, the only thing that worked was emotional blends of essential oils meant to calm the body and mind. Yeah, I know, it sounds wacky and woo-woo. I thought so, too, until I saw a tantrum stopped in its tracks. We had a new friend come over, and our youngest came running into the house in tears, grabbed an oil bottle, applied to herself, sat for about 2 minutes, and ran back out, all happy to play. That friend looked at me and said, “I need a vat of that stuff.” I replied, “Sure, but it only takes a couple drops.” ;)
If you are ready for more details of how the process worked for us, or you want to keep up with our other shenanigans, I can't wait to have you join me here.
Have questions? I can't wait to chat with you!
