Let’s face it, some of us are just drawn to drama, and there are definitely some kids who seem to make everything into a performance and a production. While this can be entertaining some times and add a little flare of excitement now and again—too much drama and performance can wear on a parent! What can be done when you’ve gotten lucky and have one of those very dramatic, “always performing” children?
My younger sister is a professional actor, so I grew up with the cute, performing sibling. As a parent, I also lucked out and two out of my three children are very much into creating great drama and a fine performance out of just about everything that happens. Years ago I admitted to a friend that I kept expecting to find the hidden cameras for the reality television show or the documentary that we all must certainly be on since there were such staged dramatic outbursts in my house!
To be honest, I don’t know if anything can really be “done” with those kids who have a flare for drama. Personalities have a tendency to just be what they are. We can try to channel it into something productive—actually getting our kids involved in drama, performance, dance, sports, etc. but when it comes to those daily “scenes” that they create in the household, as parents we just have to learn how to get through and by. I have a tendency to use humor to diffuse the drama. When one of my daughters threw herself down on the couch a couple years ago declaring “If I haven’t figured out what I want to do with my life by now, what’s the point?!” I was able to use some calm humor to mirror for her how ridiculous and dramatic she was being.
My advice is to not let yourself get sucked into the drama if you can help it. I’m not saying to ignore your child since any of us know that ignoring a dramatic child just makes things worse, but just exercise some detachment—don’t get caught up in the swirl of trying to convince them that things aren’t all that bad or that they really are being a drama queen/king. By the time they get to be adolescents, they really do KNOW they are being dramatic—just let it run its course and learn to acknowledge, without getting caught up in playing “your role.”
Also: When a Child Does the Opposite of What You Want
When a Child Has Too Much Exaggerated or Inappropriate Fear