This hits home in the US because of the upcoming holidays, but in reality the meltdowns can happen at any big event for a child … birthdays, special trips, family reunions … any event that a child anxiously awaits.

My little one fits this perfectly.  Holidays and special events tend to overwhelm her … the trips between family homes, or the excitement of friend and family coming to our home to celebrate … it's enough to push her and I both over the edge.  I thought this article was pretty right on, a little sappier than I am as a parent, but it basically gets the point across

“Your child will have big feelings when a special holiday or birthday comes up. It's one of the phenomena you can set your clock by. We parents wish the universe were governed by forces a little easier on us than this one. But it may help to know that every other family deals with the same phenomenon you do, and that, in a way, children are built to have big feelings on big occasions.” … more