I wanted to expand on Jonah’s meltdown from last night when he was kicking the locked front door over and over like a battering ram.
I initially thought that Jonah was having a meltdown because his toy we ordered didn’t arrive that day.
When we were at the beach, I was having a tough time getting Jonah to leave. I looked at our Amazon orders and I saw that the toy we had ordered that morning was due at any time.
Same day shipping?? WOO-HOO!!
So I said, “Hey Jojo! Let’s go home and see if the toy we ordered is here yet!”
Looking back, I probably could have rephrased it somehow… I don’t know.
Because, Jonah got it in his head that the toy would be there waiting for him at home. So he excitedly ran to the car and we drove off.
And of course, the toy was not there yet.
When Jonah saw this, he refused to go in the house.
I told him we just had to wait a little while, but that was not what he wanted to hear and his anxiety skyrocketed. He crouched down in the middle of the street and was screaming “Daddy, I want SPAAAACE!”
I was able to coax him in the house and locked the door behind him.
But since he was already anxious and escalated, he did not respond well.
Sometimes, when you know there is going to be a meltdown, you try to “choose your battleground,” and I could see this one coming a mile away. “Inside at home” is always preferable to “outside in public.”
Jonah kept yelling “DINOSAUR!” And I kept telling him, we just had to wait. That’s when he went through the roof and started kicking the door.
Eventually, he calmed down but he would not leave the front door. I brought his chicken nuggets over to him and he started eating, while sitting on the floor.
About an hour later, the toy finally arrived. Jonah seemed happy and I thought we were in the clear. Crisis resolved.
Mama arrived home from work while Jonah was playing with his new toy…
And then without any warning, Jonah yelled “dinosaur!” and bolted out the now unlocked front door.
I immediately started chasing him into the cold and rain. Jonah barefoot… me in socks.
He was trying to get into the car.
It finally dawned on me…
😳😱
OMG how did I miss it? Jonah had left his toy dinosaurs, “Arlo” and “Papa” in the car and wanted to bring them in.
IS THAT WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO TELL ME THIS WHOLE TIME?!
No wonder he was so upset!
Now that I thought about it, the toy we ordered that arrived was more of a “gorilla-hot-wheels toy” than a “dinosaur toy.”
🤦♂️
“Oh, buddy. I’m so sorry! You even VERBALLY told me exactly what you wanted and I STILL didn’t understand.
That must have been so frustrating for you! You were willing to wait for the toy we ordered, but you just wanted to bring your dinosaurs in from the car, literally right outside in the driveway and I wouldn’t let you.
No wonder you were kicking the door over and over!
I know communicating with me can be frustrating. Sometimes, communication is frustrating for me too.
I’m doing my best, but there are times, I will mess up.
I promise I will try to do better next time.”