Mastering Calm amid Temper Tantrums - Because parenting isn't always peaceful, but it can be powerful
Temper tantrums. Whether you're navigating your toddler's grocery-store meltdown or managing a child whose frustration has hit peak volume during bedtime, tantrums can feel like the emotional equivalent of walking barefoot across Legos.
It’s in these loud, chaotic, soul-draining moments that we parents are asked to summon something superhuman: calm.
Franki Bagdade’s award-winning parenting guide, I Love My Kids, But I Don’t Always Like Them, doesn’t offer a fairy tale version of parenting—it delivers real talk for real life. With a career in behavioral observation and a deeply personal understanding of parenting exhaustion, Franki meets parents where they are: frazzled, burned out, and wondering what on earth just happened.
The book is refreshingly honest, peppered with humor, and built on hard-earned wisdom. Franki’s stories and strategies help parents stay grounded, even when their child’s emotions are spinning out like a top in a tornado. Her approach is not about perfection. It’s about progress, presence, and sometimes just surviving the day without losing your own cool.
As one mom put it, “This book feels like a coffee chat with a friend who really gets it—and won’t judge me.”
A Personal Anecdote: The Night We Had No Supper
In my own home, I thought I had cracked the tantrum code. My first three children never begged in stores or threw fits. We didn’t use threats or bribes—they simply knew tantrums got them nowhere.
Then came CB, child number four.
One day, CB spotted a last-minute temptation by the grocery checkout and demanded it. When I said “no,” he staged a full-scale meltdown for the entire store. Shoppers stared. The cashier froze. The moment could’ve gone sideways fast—but I didn’t engage in battle.
Instead, I calmly told the other kids, “We’re leaving. Go get in the car.” I left a full cart of groceries behind and carried CB, kicking and crying, out the door. The ride home was silent—except for his siblings, who let him know in no uncertain terms: “Because of you, we don’t have dinner tonight.” And we didn’t.
But we also never had another tantrum like that again.
Calm Is Contagious—and Teachable
This story isn't about punishment. It’s about boundaries. It’s about teaching children that big feelings are valid, but actions have consequences—and that parents can respond with quiet authority rather than anger.
Franki’s book supports this exact approach, helping parents manage challenges ranging from ADHD and anxiety to sensory sensitivities and sibling rivalry. Each chapter is digestible in five-minute bursts (perfect for chaotic days), and every page offers practical tips, heartfelt encouragement, and yes—humor. Because parenting might make you cry, but it should also make you laugh.
Whether your child melts down over a toy, homework, or the wrong color cup, the first step toward peace is your own calm. Franki shows you how to reclaim it.
Parenting tip from the book: When the tantrum hits, try this: lower your voice instead of raising it. Sit down instead of looming. Model the calm you want to see—and walk away if needed. Nothing says “power” like refusing to escalate.
Ready to parent from a place of strength—even on the hardest days?
Pick up I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them. It might just be the survival guide you didn’t know you needed.
Book Description:
Selected as Independent Authors' Network Book of the Year as the Outstanding Parenting Book and winner of the Literary Titan Gold Award, I Love My Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them, is the ultimate survival guide for parents living through one of the strangest times in history. This " how to guide" will support you even if you are exhausted and burnt out in improving your child(ren)'s behavior. Written by an expert with 20 years of experience in behavioral observation in the classroom, in overnight camp, and more. Franki's storyteller cadence helps the book to read as if it's a casual conversation and pep talk between two parents over coffee. Franki is raw, authentic, and honest about her own "mom fails" and what she has learned in her own little lab school, as she raises her three children.
Franki is a parenting expert in her own right with a Masters in Special Education and most of a Masters in Clinical Social Work (pandemic purchase!) at the time she wrote this book. However, you will hear no judgement in this author's advice as she lays out methods to help parents with all types of struggles from anxiety, ADHD and sensory difficulties, to raising siblings with competing needs, to learning when to let go and when to reach out to a professional.
Does your child struggle with age expected tasks and have difficulty socially, trouble focusing, managing school, listening to directions or with sibling relations? Is your family struggling because one of your children seems to consume all your parental energy? Are you overwhelmed when your child misbehaves (again)! This book was written to support all parents. Each chapter concludes with key points, in case you read in 5 minute increments between webinars and school pick up lines. Short, insightful, and funny! Because after all, parenting can be funny!
Amazon Customers say (summary of reviews), 4.8 stars, 71 reviews
Customers find the book valuable for parenting advice, with one noting its practical insights from a seasoned educator. Moreover, the book is easy to read, with one customer mentioning it reads like a friend is talking to you. Additionally, customers appreciate its humor, with one noting it makes them laugh out loud, and they value its personal and humble approach.
For more posts by and about Franki and her book, click HERE.
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