How do you stop yoursef losing it when the red mist descends?

[KTNoo]

I would love some advice from all you lovely patient MNetters.

When your dcs are being really, really irritating and you can't take it any more, what do you do to stop yourself screaming at them/throwing plates at the wall? (I haven't thrown any plates yet, before you ask, but have screamed).

Before I had my 3 adorable but seriously challenging dcs, I was a calm, rational human being. I would never have believed how much they could wind me up, to the point where I almost can't think clearly, and do the sensible thing, e.g. walk away.

Even just things like trying to talk to DS age 6 and he answers everything I say with "waah!" for some reason. He's trying to wind me up, I know....

Everyone else I see seems to be far more patient.

Sing.
wibble his lips so he makes a waa-waa sound.
dance around the living room.
say "waaaaah" back.
Yell, oh, I dunno "The admiral's got no clothes on" or something meaningless, at the top of your voice.

I do all manner of truly odd things the kids look at me like but it stops the behaviour! Probably cos they think I've gone nuts!

but it relieves MY tension and I can then deal with them. But tbh, quite often just doing the weird thing stops them in their tracks! It's an interruption, iyswim.

And it allows me to laugh! Which is the number 1 way to deal with the kids - keeping your sense of humour.

Leave the room.

Its actually advise the HV gave me when I first had my DTs. She said that when they were both crying and I couldn't bare it any more go and stand in the garden with the door shut so I couldnt hear them for 5 minutes.

Course now they are 6 they follow me around and carry on whining.

I like that Heget, I think I will be trying that

LOVE the shouting nonsense idea. You see, I didn't know one had to be so creative to be a parent.

In our previous house the kitchen had a lock on the inside and the door was half glass, so on more than one occasion I locked myself in there. But that's when they all suddenly want me and the three little whiny faces on the other side of the door just made me more annoyed.

Ok, dd2(3), who refused to eat her lunch today, just got really pissed off (prob partly due to hunger)when she said she was hungry and I gave her the lunch she had turned down earlier, and threw the whole plate on the floor. Nice.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. You need to be philosophical but the red mist descends.

I did actually manage to not react (it was isolated incident which always helps) and handed her cloth to wipe floor once she had picked up all the food. She wan't happy but she did it!

Result!