Pop!

Lucas has been having a lot of meltdowns since we went on vacation two weeks ago.  We've been reading a million books in search of solutions, and one of them mentioned a little girl whose parents asked her what she felt like before she wigged out.  "It's like I'm going up an escalator and I can't get off!" she explained. So they got her to use the phrase "I'm on the escalator" to signal that she needed help. Then they'd give her a hug or a pat or otherwise try to diffuse her mounting tantrum.

With this idea in mind, I asked Lucas what he felt like before he got very upset and started screaming the way he had during a recent tantrum.  He didn't really get what I was asking, so I explained the story about the little girl who said she felt like she was going up an escalator.

D: Do you feel like you're going up the escalator?
L: No. [long pause]  I feel like I'm a wine bottle about to pop! [imitating the noise of a cork coming out of a wine bottle]

And so we have a new phrase in our household.