Whoops, there they go again crying.

Your frustration level just goes up and you feel like yelling, running or just burying yourself with a book or chocolate. Yet, you have to deal with it, calm yourself and calm the child.

Now what?

When dealing with moody, anxious and whiny children it is not easy to maintain your sanity. Crying children can happen in your classroom, in the park on a trip or when you are trying to cook supper.

What to know about crying children:

1. They do not mean to get you frustrated an lose your nerve
2. Children are crying for a reason and it can simply be because they are tired, angry or upset.
3. Some children cry more than others and those children may need your attention more- they may just want your attention and love!

OK, so now you know there is a reason that they are crying how do you deal with it?

Everyone deals with crying children differently and some may not feel like they are losing it and therefore can skip numbers 1 and 2

Dealing with Crying Children:

1. Take a deep breathe- ensure that you are calm and collected.
2. Stop for a minute to give child full attention. Yes, put down the knife and put the vegetables away, lunch will wait  a minute. If you are in the classroom do the same.
3. Survey surroundings to give you an idea why child is crying.
4. Approach child
5. Calmly talk to child. Child may be crying and you cannot hear anything. tell the child it is OK to cry you will give him/her a few minutes to finish up so that you can talk, you cannot hear when they are crying so you will wait. Many times a child will stop shortly.
6. Comfort child- depends on child, some may want verbal comfort while others would appreciate physical comfort such a a hug or pat.
7. Assess situation and create a game plan- if child was crying because she wants a toy, once child has calmed down you can talk to child and discuss how to go about getting a toy she wants. Perhaps we can share, take turns or just be flexible. Allow your child choices.

When a child sees an adult dealing with his/her tears appropriately they will feel reassured secure and happy. Many times they will approach an adult before they begin crying because they feel the adult will want to help them. In addition, when a feasible game plan was created many children will do what you discussed rather than burst into tears.