Take a Break Books: The Grouchies

This book (find it here) has been one of Max’s favorites this past week and I can’t think of a more relevant book to share with y’all right now. I think we are all experiencing the “grouchies” a little more frequently these days. 

I love this story for a lot of reasons. 1) A lot of the situations are relevant to our kids’ lives. 2) It offers some guidance for kids (and grown ups!) about our power over our perspectives. 3) It normalizes and provides us an opportunity to talk to our kids about yucky feelings. 

Now, this book isn’t perfect (I should prob start writing my own children’s books). If I were the parents in the story, I would address the child’s behavior and mood at every turn. I also don’t think it’s always easy to snap our fingers and change our outlook (especially for young kids). What we can control is our behavior in these down times. It’s okay to be grouchy, you can go hit your pillows or scream in your room, you may not wreck your sister’s tea party. This is the message I want us to send to our kids. We have to allow space for the yucky feelings. We can feel yucky, control our bodies, and move through the feeling. They don’t last forever.  

This is hard for grown ups too. I was feeling pretty down this weekend and even though I knew it wouldn’t last forever, it was probably hormone related 🤰🏻, and I have so much to be grateful for, I couldn’t snap out of it easily. Even with all of the knowledge I have about mental health and my years in therapy, I spent a few days pushing the feelings aside and chugging along. I felt terrible - exhausted and overwhelmed. It wasn’t until I called it out, cried, and took some self care steps that I was able to get out of it. We have to sit with these feelings. We have to label them. We have to do things to care for our bodies and our brains. Now more than ever. 

Please reach out if you need support. I am here for you. 💙💚❤️💛

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