Part 3: "Parenting a Child Who has Intense Emotions"

This is part of a summary of the book: Parenting a Child Who Has Intense Emotions: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills to Help Your Child Regulate Emotional Outbursts & Aggressive Behaviors. My comments are generally in italics; the rest of the information comes from the book.

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I thought I would list the rest of the chapters, so I you know how much longer until this is over what's coming:

• We finished Part 1:  You, Your Child, and Emotional Intensity
• Chapter 1:  Emotional Intensity and Your Child's Feelings
• Chapter 2:  Effective Parenting
• Part 2:  Responding to Your Child's Feelings
• Chapter 3:  Understanding What Your Child Is Telling You (because there is another interpretation of the angry things the child is screaming LOUD AND CLEAR?)
• Chapter 4:  Responding When Your Child Is Overwhelmed by Emotions
• Chapter 5:  Teaching Your Child to Manage Feelings
• Part 3:  Responding to Your Child's Behaviors
• Chapter 6:  Behavioral Principles and Intense Behaviors
• Chapter 7:  Maintaining Expectations, Limits, and Routines
• Chapter 8:  Decreasing Tantrums, Aggression, and Other Problem Behaviors
• Chapter 9:  School-Related Difficulties
• Part 4:  Helping Your Whole Family:  Minimizing Collateral Damage  (That just MAKES ME SICK!  "Minimizing Collateral Damage"?!  From something a child, WHO CAME FROM YOUR BODY is doing?!  I could throw up right now.)
• Chapter 10:  The Impact of Intense Emotions on the Entire Family (because you don't feel like enough of a failure already)
• Chapter 11:  Caring for Yourself and Living Your Life

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Hmmm, I was planning on reading the chapter about taking care of yourself, but looking at part 4 is making me feel ill, so I think I'll pick a different chapter for tonight.....I guess I'll start on Part 2:  Responding to Your Child's Feelings.
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Chapter 3:  Understanding What Your Child Is Telling You

• The "story of emotion" describes how an emotion develops until it is expressed verbally and behaviorally.  "Understanding the steps in your child's story of emotion will help you understand your child's feelings with acceptance and without judgement.  Knowing the steps in her story will enable you to intervene before your child has escalated to the point of uncontrollable behaviors."  (The steps are:  Vulnerabilities/Risk Factors, Triggers, Thoughts/Beliefs About the Event, Body Sensations or Responses, Identifying Emotions, Behaviors/Actions)
• "Your Child's Vulnerabilities or Risk Factors"
• "Knowing when your child is vulnerable to negative emotions enables you to help her prepare for or avoid difficult or stressful situations until she is better able to manage them."
• How to figure out when your child is vulnerable
• "Hypothesize why your child's emotions seem more intense at this time" (since it is so quiet and peaceful while you duck and cover, trying to avoid the objects thrown your way fallout during the latest meltdown)
• "Figure out what makes this day different from another"
• "Begin to discern patterns"
• "Possible Risk Factors For Children"
• "Lack of sleep"
• "Not feeling well"
• "A change in routine"
• "Tension in the house (even tension about positive events)"
• "New people or situations"
• "Stress from playmates, friends, or siblings;  being picked on or teased"
• "A perceived sense of having done something wrong or having upset a loved one"
• "Difficulty in school or in completing homework"
• EXSISTING
• "Your Child's Triggers:  The trigger for your child is anything that causes or leads to an intense emotions response."
• Possible triggers:
• something in the environment
• something the child is thinking or feeling
• bedtime
• vacation
• asking your child to do something
• setting limits
• separation from a parent
• change in routine or circumstance
• losing in competitive activities
• BEING CONSCIOUS
• "Your Feelings as Triggers":  becoming tense in anticipation of your child's reaction to something can trigger the child's reactivity since children are supposedly sensitive to your moods and feelings
• "Siblings as Triggers"

"Your child's sibling may be a trigger for emotional outbursts for any number or reasons....This presents a dilemma for parents, and each parent must find his or her own most effective way to resolve it.  Even while you try to avoid triggers for one child and try to keep her calm, your other child(ren)'s needs and feelings, even if they are triggers, need to be acknowledged and validated as well.  We will discuss siblings further in chapter 10."  (So, basically, WE ARE SCREWED this is looking GRIM.)

• "Minimizing Your Child's Reactions to a World Full of Triggers":  Your child cannot live in a safe bubble, free from triggers, but you can spend your life walking on eggshells try to minimize the impact of the triggers by
• avoiding or lessening problematic situations that are not necessary (example:  if your child becomes more aggressive after watching cartoons, limit cartoon time and increase time for programs that are more calming)
• Making certain accommodations for things you know are going to be a problem (example:  if your child takes a long time getting ready in the morning, wake her earlier so that she'll have the time she needs)
• preparing the child in advance by discussing what is going to happen, asking her what will make it easier for her, try to find ways to minimize stress and anxiety, validating her feelings and remaining calm and nonjudgmental when in the situation
• "Your Child's Belief System and Concrete Thinking":  Children think in a literal, concrete way 
• "Body Sensations":  be aware of the physical signs that your child is becoming distressed  (examples:  looking as though she's going to cry, speaking louder or faster, not looking directly at you, becoming more active or jumpy, looking like he is about to explode from the effort of holding his rage inside)
• "Communicating Feelings":  When you are familiar with your child's risk factors, triggers, and body sensations, you can more easily understand what he is feeling.  Helping your child name the feeling is a way to help him gain some control and reduce negative emotions.
• You can find a mood chart to hang up so that your child can see a picture of a mood and identify with it.
• "Behaviors and Actions:  The Outcome of the Story":  The outcome of every story of emotion is a behavior.
• "In DBT, behaviors are seen as ways to manage difficult emotions...Your child learns ways to help her feel better.  The stronger her negative feelings, the more she will search for ways to get rid of those feelings and the more intense her behavioral response will be.  Yelling, for example, may release some emotion, but if her emotions are very strong, hurting herself (or someone else) may be the only way she can find to feel better.  Ironically, her attempts at feeling better may become more destructive as the intensity of her emotions increases."
• "Teaching Alternative Behaviors":  parents need to teach the children different behaviors to replace those that are "less effective" (Ha, ha, ha, ha!  Let's not tiptoe around this!  The things you do that get you grounded/suspended/listed on Cr@igslist!)
• Examples:  telling someone what has happened, having some time alone, hugging a stuffed animal, pounding on clay or a soft cushion (Those are lovely ideas, but what are you supposed to do when your child REFUSES to do ANY OF THOSE THINGS or ANYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE SUGGESTED?!)
• Encourage the use of alternate behaviors early in the incident "story"
• "Modeling Effective Behaviors" (because your child is not going to head for some time alone when he is angry if you like to slam things and yell when you are angry)
• Help your child understand that everyone makes mistakes
• "Finding Your Child's Truth":  try to figure out what your child is trying to tell you
• "Know Your Child":  accept your child the way he is
• "Accept Your Child's Truth:  Your child's truth is real to her...Sometimes the specific words your child is saying are ineffective ways she has found to express herself...If you can let go of the truth of the words ('You love him more than me!'), you will be much better able to recognize and respond to your child's feelings effectively."
• "Acknowledge When Something Is Important to Your Child":  try to validate your child's feelings even if you don't understand why something is so important to him
• "Helping Your Child Express What She Is Feeling":  the best way to do this is to talk to her about her feelings and behaviors when she is calm
• "Create a Validating Home Environment"
• "Talk About Your Own Feelings"
• "Acknowledge Positive and Negative Emotions in Others"
• "Share Positive Activities"

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Next up at some future date if I do not drown myself in ice cream!  Chapter 4:  Responding When Your Child Is Overwhelmed by Emotions

Summary Part 1
Summary Part 2
Summary Part 4
Summary Part 5