122 The Explosive Childdiscussion of Plan B and more examples of Proactive
Plan B.
DRAMA IN REAL LIFE
Mickey, Minnie ...Meltdown?Remember Casey from Chapter 4? He and his par-
ents and sister took a trip to Walt Disney World, and
their first day went wonderfully. They were a pretty
tired*, hungry* crew as they left* the Magic Kingdom
on their way back to their hotel. (The asterisks desig-
nate well-known triggers: fatigue, hunger, and transi-
tions.) Of course, this scenario had graver implications
for Casey than for his sister. Just after they’d gotten
outside the gates, Casey uttered the following, omi-
nous request: “I want cotton candy.”
“You can’t have cotton candy because we’re not go-
ing back into the park to look for it,” said the father
instinctively.
Casey stopped dead in his tracks. “I want cotton
candy!” he said loudly.
The parents exchanged glances. They’d become
pretty good at making quick decisions about what Plan
they wanted to use and contemplated their three op-
tions. Plan A would only cause a lengthy explosion.