A blonde child with long hair cries next to a dollhouse, wearing a floral dress.
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Making Sense of Meltdowns, Shutdowns & Overwhelm

When your child experiences those huge reactions – the ones that might look like massive tantrums, complete shutdowns, or anything in between – it’s so easy to feel lost, frustrated, or even judged. But here’s something crucial I want you to hold onto: These intense moments are very rarely about defiance or being ‘bad.’ They are almost always involuntary responses. Think of it like a system overload, a distress signal saying, “I can’t cope right now!”