Meltdown in children

A meltdown is a reaction to feeling overwhelmed.

For some kids, it happens when there’s too much sensory information to process. The commotion of an amusement park might set them off, for instance. For other kids, it can be a reaction to having too many things to think about.

An example of too much sensory input could be filling a small water pitcher. Most of the time, you can control the flow of water and fill the pitcher a little at a time. But sometimes the water flow is too strong and the pitcher overflows before you can turn the water off.

That’s how a sensory meltdown works. The noise at the amusement park is sensory input that floods your child’s brain.

When your child is experiencing an emotional meltdown, try one of these responses:

Be Present – remain in the room. Gently place your arm on their shoulder or hug them. Whatever they need. But be there. Don’t leave. You are their safety net.

Be Stretchy – your child may resist your help, physically or verbally. That’s okay. When your child tells you to go away he/she doesn’t really mean it. He/she means ‘I need to see if you love me enough to stay.’

Be Verbal – give your child the words to name their feelings, while simultaneously acknowledging them: “I can see you are UPSET right now. “You are SAD because our doggy has died. It HURTS inside and makes you want to cry”; “It’s FRUSTRATING when you can’t have the pen to draw on the wall, I can see that makes you MAD”.

Be Physical: Meltdown moments are your opportunity to establish physical boundaries for your child. This can be done in following way;

– Hold firmly.

– “Stop”.


– “This is not okay”.

– Repeat as necessary – this may take some time. Persevere. It works.

Be Alternative – telling your child to stop physically is one thing. But they need to do something with that emotion. So provide alternatives for them like asking them to draw what they feel like, play with clay.