Are You Pushing Mood Swings?

Marie got off the bus the other day. She was the last one of our tribe to step foot on the sidewalk. While Chadee skipped towards me, Marie didn't even make eye contact. I knew before she looked at me that she'd had a bad day.

"How do you know?" Marie says to me when I ask if she's had a bad day.

Signs of A Mood Swing:

I think any mom who knows their kids well enough can recognize the signs of their daughters' mood swings. It's that time when we have to put on her investigatory hat and interagate for clues. If answers are forthright, there is always a sibling close by who may know the answer.

Chadee usually just skips along beside us and asks, "What's wrong Sissy?"
While their brother, stuck between two girls, remains quiets. As he has found is best when we deal with one of Marie's mood swings.

I go through all the questions:
"Did something happen today at school?"
"Did someone hurt your feelings?"
"Did someone say something to you that you didn't like?"
"What did you have for lunch?" (For a picky eater like Marie, even food can put a girl in a terrible mood.)

LITTLE LADY LESSON #1

Bad days are inevitable. A little lady is never unkind or pulls others down with her, but may confide her troubles to a good friend or adult that they may help her find the goodness through the bad. 

By the time we walk home from the bus stop, I usually get enough information that I can determine the cause of the mood swing and attempt to push Marie's mood in a different direction. Or at least I try to make her smile before going in the house. It usually works.

I think mood swings are inevitable when you have girls. It has to do with growing up and that whole hormone thing. As a mom, I'd like to think that somewhere in my morning cup of tea is a dollop or two of patience. God knows I need it when the mood swings start to escalate.

And just when I thought we'd out grown the tantrum stage. LOL

It's so important that we let our girls know we're there for them, even on the bad days.

How do you handle a bad day and how do you encourage your daughter through a bad day?