Do your kids misbehave in public?

I do two things before hand (well three really) to help my sone choose good behavior. 1. I give him a purpose 2. I give him something to look forward to 3. I tell him the behavior I am looking for in the store. So in the car I tell him "mommy has a lot to look for in this store so I am going to need your help with something"(purpose) "I need your help to finish here as soon as possible so that we can get home where you can ride your car in the backyard, because I am really looking forward to doing that with you" (look forward to) I will tell him that we are looking for our favorite cereal bars or something. Then as we are going in the store I tell him that I need him to be a helper and be a nice listener(or whatever behavior I want) so we can get home to our fun car. Anytime his behavior starts to wane a bit then I start a little game of 'hunting for cereal bars'... acting silly if need be. Then I will tell him now and then, your behavior is showing me that you are a little boy who wants to ride cars with mommy when we get home. In essence I am rewarding him for good behavior, but I am careful to never say anything like "If you want to ride cars later you have to be a good boy now." I try to keep it about his choice to behave as expected. My hope is for him to learn that good choices bring about good things in life.

My kids are generally pretty good but not always. My twins especially tend to fight over things and my son has autism and it's not always easy to get him to behave. Sometimes I just have to pack it up and get them out of there. If both of us are there, we take turns taking the little ones for walks while the other parent shops, eats, etc. But when it's just one of us, it's tough!

MY son was really bad about misbehaving before he turned 2. It was hard to get him to understand why he needed to behave and why he couldn't have exactly what he wanted. Now that he's 2, usually we just explain to him that he has to behave so we can get our shopping done. If we don't get our shopping done quickly, we can't play outside or do whatever it is that he wants to do.

I think 99% of children will throw at least one tantrum! I ignore them im not about to give any recognition for that sort of behaviour they soon learn that it wont get them anywhere. The key is to always set a good example they soon follow

My kids are usually pretty good when out in public. This is because my husband and I believe in consistent discipline. This does not mean abuse by any means! (smile) It merely means making sure our kids know the rules that we have set, and putting measures in place so they abide by them. We reward good behavior, and punish bad behavior...toys taken away, time outs. We let our kids know that ill behavior will not be rewarded and when one sibling sees the other get a reward & they do not receive it because of ill behavior, it really helps to get them back in line. However, kids are kids, and both of my older kids have thrown at least a few tantrums in public at some point in time! Just don't let them get away with it. Even if you don't address it until you get home. Remind them that they get a time out or whatever you choose because of that behavior.

My daughter is twelve now, so we are past that, but when she was small I always explained how I expected her to behave. I also explained that if she did not behave well she would be with a babysitter next the time I had to go out. I would occasionally give her a treat after she behaved well so she never knew when it would happen. I would explain this is for being such a good little girl today. Mommy appreciates it when you are such a big help by being good. She never knew when it would happen so she usually behaved very well all the time.

hey there queen..hows it goin today? well imust tell u i alwayds look forward to ur threads..they are always intersting and this one got me knodding my head lol..when my son was 4 is when it all started!! lol.he was always such a good kid and outta no where no warning..the tantrum begannn!! lol..i was soo embarrassed and nothig i did stopped it..and i was standing my ground on the toy he wanted..it was like $30 ..lol and im like um noooo hunny..mommy doesnt have the money..besides u got a car yesterday remember?well logic didnt help..hes 3! lol..soo after not handling it anymore i left and took hok to the car..and made him sit and told him i was taking alll his toys away untill he stopped acting liek he was..i made him sit and htink about it crying it out..while i ignored and listened to the radio..when he calmed down..i asked him if he was goin to be good and not ask for anything or were we going home an di was takin alll his toys away untill he earned them back..he undertood and we went back and i tell u he was perfect threw the whole store for an hour!!!!! yayyy!! and he has been good ever since when he cant have what he wants..soo i wqould try that and see how that goes..if and when u ever need to...it worked for me..lots of luck! April

I believe all kids are going to misbehave when they are out. The thing I did that worked with my girls is when we went grocery shopping, I used to give them coupons to find their favorite cereal, snack or whatever. So while they were looking for their coupon item, I could find the rest of the things I needed in that aisle and be ready for the next. It did take a little longer sometimes, but at the same time it helped them with reading and taught them to be good shoppers.

Kids are kids. So we can't expect that they will behave well all the time. Sometimes when my child has a bad mood, he will behave bad. If it's in public, I think it's better that we shall be patient and tell him why he is wrong. Do not yell to them in public, even if there are only between you and your child. I think it's so hurtful for a child. It's wrong that they behave bad, but it's also wrong for us to behave bad because of their bad behaviors. I love China

My kids are pretty good when we are out. My son is 8 years old and well, he knows better than to act like a fool in public. My daughter will sometimes act up (she is only 16 months old), but it is usually when she is really getting tired or hungry. I usually do something to distract her and she is usually fine after that.

My oldest daughter (4) usually pulls that crap when we're out. Usually 5 times out of 10 she's pretty good. On the days she does act out I ignore her and just tell her oh well your the one making a fool of yourself not me! For me I couldnt care less what the other "shoppers" think! That's just me though. I went in there to shop I will continue to shop. Then once we leave the store and I'm getting her into her booster I tell her "Just for that tantrum you pulled in there your not coming to the store with mommy for a few days now" she gets really upset when I leave to the store and she's staying home.

You really react differently depending on the situation. If my kid is acting up in the grocery store either my husband or I will take him/her back to the car. You only have to do this once or twice before they realize that they are missing out when they misbehave. WHen I'm by myself with the three of them - I've been known to bribe or threaten depending on how bad they are being.

My daughter is 2 1/2. yesterday she was cranky because she was tired and we had to go to the post office. while at the window, she started screaming. since i was halfway through the transaction, i could not just walk away. i tried to pick my daughter up and she screamed louder. the clerk got the hint to speed things up. all of a sudden, i felt my daughter go behind me- she was wailing and screaming. before i knew it, she lifted my dress all the way up. i was wearing tights but my butt was showing. very humiliating. this is not common for her to do in public. i hope it does not become a new habit :(

If a kid will see that it can achieve something by acting like this than it will never stops. If your kid try to do such thing even take something away from him/her. Like 1 day TV ban. I think it should help. Although I don't think that it's the right way to deal with such things. It's the easiest from the right ways. I think you should just make the kid understand your point of view. Talk to him/her and tell why you can't buy something and buy something else/cheer up the kid you will think of something :). Cheers and happy myloting.

From a very young age my daughter knew that if she misbehaved in the store, resturant wherever we went home. She knew that when we got home she would be put to bed for a nap. So no she didn't throw fits. When she got older (around 4) if she started to throw a fit one sentence from me stopped it cold....I would simply ask if we needed to go to the bathroom...she knew then that if she continued she would be in trouble. I hate being in a store, restuarant, movie or other place where a child is having a meltdown and the parent continues to subject the rest of the public to her childs fit. Obviously they need to take the child home cause the child is tired, hungry or both. I almost aplauded one mother at walmart whose son (child was around 8 or 9 way too old to be acting this way)was really acting out. After telling him 2 times to stop laying in the floor and stop crawling under the basket she turned and appologized to the other people in line behind her and left her buggy of groceries out of the way at the end of the isle and proceeded to leave with her son. And he knew he had pushed her too far believe me he knew.

After reading all the posts I think I consider myself a lucky mom... lol My 5 year-old son never did something like that when we went out shopping. Of course that he always sees several things that he likes and asks me to buy them for him, but he also knows (and it has been like that since he was 2) that he can only pick one thing and just one for me to buy him, so he does just that.

My older kid never did it and I have to say I was lucky. But I'm not so lucky with my second. He's 17 months old and he can throw a tantrum. If he throws himself on the floor, I let him for a few seconds and then I firmly tell him to get up. When he started doing it, I had to tell him atleast 20 times before he stopped screaming and picked himself up....but now I need to tell him less than 10 times before he picks himself up. If the screaming is really bad and might disturb the others, I pick him up and take him outside and talk to him (not that he understands what I am saying but he can understand from my tone that I didn't like what he did). I definitely will not offer treats or bribes. I usually go shopping with my husband (because of our younger one) and depending on the situation, one of us does the shopping when I discipline. Sometimes I discipline, then hand him to my husband and go back in to finish the shopping....but most of the times he's good after the talking (which I do only when he has a screaming fit). The only time I find it difficult to handle him is when I have to take him off one of those toy cars that they have attached to the carts...for another child to get in. My son's crazy about cars and he can't handle being pulled out of the car. Then I need to take him away where he can't see it...that's the only option. Besides that most misbehaviours are under control if I ignore and don't pay attention...and he's learning that he can't get a treat or get his way by screaming and throwing a tantrum.

My kids fights a lot with just about anything, but they behave themselves when there are people in and outside the house. I took all four of them in the office one time and my officemate did not even notice that there were 4 kids in my workplace. I was just glad that they are not like most kids.

hello dear I have also a kid however, never she did a tantrums in the mall because everyday before we sleep i talk to her about life, and so many things I explain to her things for example the budget that i have is only $50 dollars for her, then i will explain that she has to budget it for the things she need and then ask me what toys fit her budget, but at first it is hard but eventually practicing it makes perfect, now whenever we go to the mall she woulds ask me her budget, and she chooses what she really needs my daughter and i started doing this even as young as 1 year old. but the budgeting strated when she was 2 1/2 years old if you need help just feel free to visit http://mylot/algonplace i hope this help you

i also encounter your situation. i had 4 kids; 5,3,2,and a 7 mos.old baby. when i went to grocery i cant take them all so i leave the baby and the 3rd one to my husband . so the eldest and the 3 years old is w/ me. before i take them to the grocery i tell them that my money is enough to buy our daily needs. so dont try to buy that is not usefull like toys and junkfoods. so when we get there they dont cry when i didt buy what they want. and when we hve enough money we will buy the things they wants. maybe it could help. try it dear!!!!