Brooklyn's Anger Management Plan

Every now and again Brooklyn gets a little ticked. I can't say I blame her. I mean who doesn't get mad when Ken won't fit in Barbie's car because his legs won't bend?! Whatever the antagonist, over the years I have tried to teach Brooklyn to manage her anger in a way that is not explosive or toxic to others. When she was two, I taught her to blow air out of her mouth and wiggle her fingers. That made all of us smile or laugh a time or two. And now that she is 5, she thinks that she's just too big for that method of anger management. I agree.....although it would still bring a laugh if she would do it. She's not a fan of anyone laughing at her these days though, and I'm sure it would invoke more anger. So, we've been working on taking taking a time out away from the problem whether it be an activity or people that she may be playing with. Until today, I've had to instruct her to do so. She had a friend over and they were playing in Brooklyn's room until Brooklyn got angry with the friend. Brooklyn told her that she needed time by herself and she left the room and went to sit on my bed. I did not intervene. I wanted to see exactly how this would play out. The friend did not understand and came to me crying. I explained the situation and told her Brooklyn was just trying to find a way to put her happy pants back on. The friend understood and went to play in Brooklyn's room in the meantime. After Brooklyn was feeling a little better, she came to me and asked me to draw a flower on a piece of paper. She then instructed me to write, "I'm sorry" on it. I did and she took the flower to her bedroom door, quietly knocked and waited for her friend to answer. When her friend opened the door, Brooklyn gave her the "I'm Sorry," flower and apologized! I love my girl! It was so good to see her practicing this new skill. It makes a mama proud!