The witching hour (and all that comes with it)

It's 6:45 pm. You've just got back from work, dreaming of quiet, a herbal tea and some peace. And in front of you? A child who seems to have had three double espressos. They're running, shouting, jumping on the sofa and throwing their cuddly toys everywhere. First instinct: "Just calm down, will you!". Their response? Even more noise. Aaaaaah…

Welcome to the witching hour. We know it well — having read every parenting book ever written — it's not a tantrum, and it's not aimed at us. But in the moment, we still crack. And sometimes, we take it just a little bit personally.

This is where Isabelle Filliozat comes in. According to her, what we call a "meltdown" is often a motor discharge. But what does that mean exactly? Picture a child's day. At nursery, with the childminder, or at school, they've had to hold it all together. Follow rules, wait their turn, manage noise, other children, emotions… Their little body has built up tension, stress and pent-up energy. Once they're back home, in their safe haven, the pressure cooker lid flies off. They physically need to move, to let it all out, to release the pressure. Asking them to calm down at that moment is like shaking a bottle of champagne and hoping it won't foam when you open it. (We tried — but honestly it was just an excuse to redecorate the living room:).

Wrestling the mini tornado is exhausting. An alternative strategy? Go with the flow so it passes faster. Instead of "Stop moving", we surrender straight away: "Ok, you need to move? Let's go. But right here." The living room transforms and the mat becomes an official release zone. Thanks to its high-density foam, which absorbs impact better than a standard mat, it takes rolling and crawling in its stride, safely. In socks, for ten minutes, we give the green light for total silliness: rolling like a log, roaring like a lion, and throwing in a tickle fight for good measure — laughter is one of the best ways to bring cortisol, the stress hormone, back down.

And then, if you're lucky, the body softens. The pressure drops. Dopamine has done its job. The child is (almost) ready for bath time, dinner and the goodnight cuddle. Does it work every time? Sadly not. But welcoming those few minutes of joyful chaos on the mat can only be liberating for the little ones… and the grown-ups too (we have big days as well, after all!).