The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically I

Plan B 89

for bed at night, boredom, shifting from one activity to

another, sibling interactions, being hungry just before

dinner, food choices or quantities, clothing choices, being

surprised by a sudden change in plans, taking medicine.

But those are just some of the possibilities. Get your list

ready. We’ve got problems to solve!

THREE OPTIONS

There are basically three ways to handle a problem or un-
met expectation with a child. We used to call these op-
tions the three “baskets.” (This term came from the early
days of the CPS approach, when we felt that people might
benefit from the visual metaphor of having three baskets
in front of them and depositing different problems or un-
met expectations into the baskets depending on how each
was to be handled.) Now we call them Plans, as in Plan A,
Plan B, and Plan C. It’s important to emphasize that the
Plans come into play only when there is a problem or un-
met expectation. If your child is meeting an expectation,
then you don’t need a Plan. For example, if your child is
completing his homework to your satisfaction and with-
out exploding, you don’t need a Plan because your expec-
tation is being met. If your child is brushing his teeth to
your satisfaction and without exploding, you don’t need a
Plan because the expectation is being met. But if your