the meltdown

so i think we've reached the terrible twos a bit early. we've had some full-blown meltdowns that have been pretty ugly. most of them involve a sort of backward worm dance that i'm honestly pretty impressed with overall. it's the kicking, screaming, crying, trying to throw oneself down the stairs, up the stairs, hitting one's head on the floor, on the cupboard, on ME, on purpose for at least thirty minutes that i could definitely skip. fortunately, dinner time seems to be the magical hour for a meltdown. as in, i set dinner on the table, atticus comes to the table and flips out. now he is a bit young to be that pissed off about cauliflower crust pizza or a charred corn dutch baby. and there are always items at dinner that we know he likes, they may come after trying quinoa, but there is always fruit right around the bend. this boy is not starving.

the extra bit of fun is that these meltdowns arrive completely without warning or cause. i've mentioned the menu, so that cannot be a cause. we've also switched out of a booster seat to a regular old chair. even though he can barely see over the table, this is preferred to the booster chair. fine by me. there are also always some books near by and of course, mama and dada to talk to, play with, sing with, even at the table! see, i'm not a nazi about dinner time, it can be fun too. it should be for goodness sake, especially if we spent any amount of time preparing it.

the issue is these meltdowns are causing a bit of a meltdown in me. i've tried reason, empathy, bribes and straight up ignoring him. the only thing that seems to work is time. in other words, letting him have some what of a fit while keeping him safe, offering comfort and solace (read: crackers). any other tips on this? obviously this theory would not work in restaurants so apologies if you're stuck in a dining establishment with us in the next year or so (HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?). p.s. we're not having fun either.