Accidents

My ice cream fell

What happened

An ice cream fallen on the ground beside an empty cone

Your ice cream fell on the ground.

What do you want to happen?

For the grown-up

Dropping an ice cream is one of the largest losses a small day contains. Sit with the disappointment for a moment first — a replacement offered too quickly reads as being told the loss did not count.

Say what they wanted before you say what can happen. A child who is handed a solution first hears it as being told off.
The true thing beats the soothing thing. “The cup is in the wash” is something a child can be disappointed about and then get past.
Wanting the impossible thing is not a mistake. It is what they want, and this resource agrees with them before it says anything else.
It works far better on a calm day than in the middle of one. Going through it when nothing is happening is what makes the words available the next time something is.

This is a rehearsal tool, not an assessment, and it does not know your child. You decide whether what it says fits them — if a scenario is not right, close it and pick another.

Your ice cream fell on the ground.

What do you want to happen?

Put it back on the cone — You wanted it back on top of your cone.
Ask for another one — You'd like to ask for another one.
Cry about it — This one really is worth crying about.
Go home now — You wanted the whole outing to be over.

Dropped ice cream can't go back on the cone. But we can still do something.

What can we do now?

Ask for another one — Good idea. Asking is the way to find out. You could say: “Can I have another one, please?”
Help clean it up — Yes. The ground can be cleaned even though the ice cream is gone.
Choose something else — Okay. There might be something else you'd like.

The ice cream is gone. We can still choose what happens next.

For the grown-up: Dropping an ice cream is one of the largest losses a small day contains. Sit with the disappointment for a moment first — a replacement offered too quickly reads as being told the loss did not count.

All 33 situations