Tantrums, Hissy Fits and Just Plain Ugly Attitudes

And I'm not talking about me :). We have seen an escalation in Jaelyn's tantrums in the last few months. She's always been able to pitch a doozy, but instead of getting fewer and further between as she gets older, they are getting more often and are lasting longer. I think most are related to hunger and tiredness, but knowing that doesn't make dealing with her any easier. Some mornings, she starts with a 45 minutes tantrum at 6:30. Talk about a bad alarm clock!!! We've gone back to our ticket system to help reward good behavior (along with making sure she always has food in her tummy) and it seems to be working a little. I was very proud of Jaelyn on Monday. She came home with a yellow light for her citizenship. Normally asking why would send her into a tizzy that would last long into the afternoon, but that wasn't the case. Instead, she very matter of factly told me she earned the yellow light for talking during rest time and then she went about her afternoon. There was no crying, screaming, or stomping her feet. She still received her same consequences for the yellow light, but she also earned a ticket for being a big girl and telling me the truth. She came home better yesterday as well and managed to contain several near meltdowns. Maybe we are finally making progress. I hope so because I would love to help her express herself better now than deal with a 15 year old who hasn't learned to express herself! Not looking forward to those hormonal teenage years at all!!!