MMP123: Meltdowns & Fear

In this week’s conversation, I’m breaking down the concept that anger is rooted in fear and when fear is on the scene, growth cannot occur. When our kids, or frankly anyone, displays meltdown behavior, the anger often feels palpable. It’s scary. Fear is directly linked to explosive meltdown moments. 

It’s actually quite normal to have fears. Humans are actually designed to scan our environments for danger. This is called the human negativity bias. So if you’re a person that has many fears, the bottom line is: You’re. Normal.

I think it’s important to understand fear and anger in a way that many of us have never actually thought about. Intense anger is uncomfortable and scary.

Meltdowns feel uncomfortable and scary for kids and grown ups. Whether you’re the person having the meltdown or witnessing it, we all feel out of control.

It can leave parents feeling powerless and this often leads to attempts to control our kids with fear tactics like threats, spanking and punishing. Kids under the age of twelve do NOT improve future behavior through fear tactics.

When fear is running the show, we operate from the lower parts of our brain. We literally become the neanderthal versions of ourselves, designed to merely aggressively grunt, fight and survive.

Obviously, it’s pretty ridiculous to think that our kids will learn from their mistakes when they are in this brain state. It’s also illogical to think we’re going to be effective guides or teachers when we’re in a triggered brain state as well.

This is why absolutely no teaching can happen when any human is having a meltdown. Before the sun can warm, nourish and allow flowers to bloom again, the storm must pass. 

Lectures, withholding love, shaming and yelling will not prevent future meltdowns.

Get my problem-solving one-sheet!

I created a simple one-sheet roadmap that will assist you in replacing the old school lectures with a tool that actually improves behavior through productive convos. Grab your problem-solving cheat sheet here: mastermindparenting.com/problemsolving

For more help, reach out to me for support: http://Randirubenstein.com/discovery

Get my Free Guide!

This guide contains the condensed nuggets of my mind mastering parenting recipe. I've been developing my signature Mastermind Parenting method for over twenty years and I'm BEEEyond thrilled to share it with you. It has the power not to just improve the conversations and relationships in your family but digging in and doing this work will change your life. I can't wait for you to get started so I can teach you everything! Head over here to get your copy https://mastermindparenting.com/freeguide

Apply for Free Coaching!

Thank you so much for listening and being an amazing mama that listens to parenting podcasts! I absolutely love connecting with other moms during the Real Coaching with Randi monthly segment and share their story. If you would like to get some free coaching on a future episode, head over to https://mastermindparenting.com/freecoaching/ and hit the Apply button.

Get my book!

Hear about my family history and the tools that have helped me replace old parenting patterns that simply don’t work with these puzzling kiddos. It's my way of paying it forward as a human that wants our kids to experience a kinder and more generous world. Head over here to get your copy https://mastermindparenting.com/book

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a note in the comment section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. You can also subscribe from the podcast app on your mobile device.