New to respite care...tips?

I have just begun providing respite care to special needs kiddos and was hoping for some advice from people with a little more experience.  How do you deal with the occasional outburst or meltdown, especially in public??  I really would like to begin painting with the kids but am afraid I won't be able to control an outburst, thus ending up for more of a mess than I bargained for.  any tips??

Re: New to respite care...tips?

Emily, what a lovely thing to do, I feel sure they will really appreciate the respite and break from caring
Pulling a funny face and laughter often works to defuse a situation with children, hard to stay cross when someone is being amusing.
Distraction is another way if you see a developing situation distract attention elsewhere.
Staying very calm yourself helps infuse a calming atmosphere.
If a child is really wound up a quiet corner somewhere away from the others till they calm down.
Ignore unwanted behaviour and reward periods of good behaviour with stars, positive praise or small rewards, or doing things they enjoy, better to encourage the behaviours you want, than to escalate by being hard on bad behaviour.
Finally listen to the child let them express themselves and feel safe, bottled emotions can result in outbursts. Hope some of this is helpful, and good luck with the caring.

Re: New to respite care...tips?

Hi Emily… first, please tell me how old the children are that you are working with?

*SnowMoon