The Elle Grey Story, RESET - Helping Our Kids BEFORE They Have One Of Those Things We Lovingly Refer To As A "MELT DOWN"!

The first time

my daughter really ever had a melt down was when she was about two and half years old. Of course, she had been upset before and visibly frustrated many many times before this day, but this was a full MELT DOWN day! 

🌟 Why I Wrote RESET

I knew my daughter was tired. We were just heading up for her nap, and all was good… until I asked her to use the potty before climbing into bed. Suddenly, we were in full meltdown mode! Tears, screams, and dramatic flops to the ground.

I stood there thinking, “What is going on?!”

I sat her down and gently asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?” She looked at me with tear-streaked cheeks and the most sympathetic, pleading eyes and said, “I don’t know!”

And she really didn’t know.

This child always has an answer for everything—but in this moment, she couldn’t find one. And worse, I realized the fact that I even asked her what was wrong worried her more. To her, if I didn’t know, and she didn’t know, how was she ever going to feel better?

That’s when I jumped into action. I explained that she was just tired, and that sometimes, when there’s so much happening around us, being tired makes it hard to process it all.

She understood. She nodded her head, relieved. Because for her, if there was a reason, there was hope—she wouldn’t feel this way forever.

I tucked her in and told her she needed a reset. The best way this time was to get some rest. As she lay down, she whispered, “I’ll feel better after my nap? I can reset?”

“Yes,” I nodded, kissed her forehead, and told her I loved her.

✍️ From a Hard Moment to a Story

The story RESET was born from this very moment. I knew I wasn’t the only parent watching their child struggle with big feelings they couldn’t name. I wanted to create something that would help children understand what’s happening inside them—and give them tools to handle it.

Even as young as two-and-a-half, kids can process so much if we take the time to explain. Now, every time my daughter feels herself getting tired or short-tempered, she can recognize it. She’ll even tell me on her own: “Mommy, I think I need a little reset.”

That one change has spared her—and me—so many meltdowns. Because while as parents we may joke about “the dreaded meltdown,” for our kids it’s truly scary. It feels like being completely out of control. But with a reset, they don’t have to go down that dark, unsettling rabbit hole of emotions.

🌈 How RESET Helps

This story gently walks kids through:

• How to recognize when they need a reset

• How to communicate it to grown-ups

• Different ways to reset (because sleep isn’t always the answer)

• Key words kids can use to quickly tell us what they need

And the best part? Grown-ups can use them too!

“And if your parents know the magic words,
They can use them too.
This way, you know what it means,
When they say one of them to you.
Because EVERYONE, now and then, needs a do-over or reset.
We ALL have moments when we seem to come apart because we’re upset!”
— Elle Grey