How to manage a 2 yr old in public?

Ignore him! I know that is tough but other than just not taking him anywhere, it is the best way to deal with him. If he sees that he can not bully you into doing what he wants he will stop. Reward good behaviour and ignore bad behaviour. Tough but right.

I have a two year old daughter and so far, I cannot recall any incident like your experience. There are certain times that she seems unmanageable but I promised myself to be patient about it and I talk to her in a calm voice. Two years old is such a very young age for discipline, at this time they emulate what they see and hear.so, all we can do is to be patient enough in showing them the right way....

wow thats toughed..i havent experienced it on my 4 children while they were that same age..but i guess to prevent it in happening i think this kid can understand now and let him chose what she likes to eat..like for instance..try bringing him in the line to choose for the food he likes..it may do the trick i guess

Involve your child as much as you can in your shopping trip for example before you go, let him help you write out the shopping list, asking him what he thinks you need or he wants to buy then whilst your out ask him to help you find the items on the list. Or you could try things to stop him from getting bored like how many blue thigs can you find? or let me know if you see a square, or something blue. Also before you leave for shopping offer a reward for good behavior, like a picket of sweets or soimething small like that.

When I was young when I misbehaved, my dad will promised me one good spanking back home. That taught me a lesson not to misbehave again. Kinda harsh but works on me back then. I wouldn't be that harsh if I have a child one day but I'll be strict when it comes to disciplining.

I'd ground him or deprive him of his small joys like not being able to play with his favorite toys etc etc and then later on I'd ask him if he is aware why he is being grounded or why he is being deprived of his small joys. Training is crucial at age 2 because this is the age wherein he remembers things. When he is aware why he is being punished, he will learn not to do such things again.

I never had that happen with either of my daughters. But, I do know what I would have done. Take him out of the basket, and out to the car. Tell him you will go back in the store when he can behave and not scream. 2 year olds understand way more than we give them credit for. I always figured that I don't want to hear a screaming child, specially mine, and I was sure if I didn't no one else did either. My s/o did say that he did this with his daughter when she was little and it worked. Now the thing is, your shopping will take longer if you have to do it too often, but if it works, your shopping experiences will be much better for you and him.

You are making several mistakes with your child's upbringing. As a Father of 4 boys my advise would be- Stop paying him so Much Attention, and Never Never go back on your Word. Kids need and demand rules to govern their lives. When you say "No," one minute and change your mind (or let Him change your mind) the next minute, you destroy his respect for you, and deny his innate need for firm Rules. When you give him a snack (to be a good boy) you are buying him off. He knows how this works, and his disdain for you shows, as he screams. Kids are always smarter than parents imagine. Your Child is Playing you for a Sucker, and you are Constantly taking the Bait!

Firstly,i want you to realise that children are different.Secondly,continue to be in control,is not everything that he wants or ask for that you give him or do for him,infact he might just be in a stage of trying everything to know which one works.If you give him the control now to decide for you,it is finish and getting back in control could be a bit difficult.

I got a 4 yr old myself. I don't remember him being unruly when he was 2 but now that he is 4, sometimes he will tantrums while on a mall but we always can shut him up within 5 minutes. Sometime we have to spank him though but usually we can talk him out of his tantrums. Try not to give in with your kid, if you try to ignore him for 2 minutes then give in then he will know it only takes 2 minutes for you guys to give in.

I experienced this before with my 2 year old cousin. The best thing to do is to distract him with something else. Although he's in the terrible twos stage, he's still very gullible. So you can play games with him or talk about imaginary Barneys waiting in the car. I try to avoid going to places with many people when he's around though. Most of the time, we go to the park and play.

Dear apwahm, At that age you are being tested. If you give in to a tantrum, then that will set the new border for the next tantrum. So the first rule is be firm. Secondly, use positive re-enforcement! It is something that all grown-ups need to learn, when dealing with kids. Reward them for being good, which does not necessarily mean giving him/her sweets. It can also be in love and attention. Kids also have a short attention span, so try to make the mundane seem entertaining and involve the little one in the shopping. By the way, a kid cannot scream if he is laughing! All the best Umart

Actually I have experienced that kind of situation, but with a little improvement with a developmental pediatrician. Actually, we don't have any idea on what to and what not do for this kind of case. Until I have talked with the nurse in my used to be company clinic. She advised me to take my child to a developmental pediatrician and had his therapy for 3x a week. He had shown big improvemnt after 4 months of therapy not only with his behavior but with the actions that he used to do. My son is now 3 1/2 years old and have diagnosed to be delayed on speech.

You've gotten some great advice here. Children are very wise and know much more than they let on. Don't be deceived, he knows he's in public and probably has sensed that you wont discipline him at the store and therefore he taunts you wanting to establish how far he can push the boundaries. Don't let him take the reins from your hands, let him know who is boss, seriously this is where it all begins, being soft and talking will not solve the problem. Take him aside and deal with the problem, calmly but firmly. It sounds like you lovely one has picked up on something you don't want him to grow used to, he has found a way to "Be the Boss", its important to stop this now before he gets too comfortable in this stolen role.

Your child knows he is in control the second he enters the store. He knows your going to try and bribe him with treats. He knows you will take no real meaningful disciplinary action to correct him. Your not in control, he is. First of all I am quite aware that a swat on the buttocks is often frowned upon by society now in spite of the fact our God and creator told us in his word that is exactly what a child needs if you love him. It is very effective. I don't know what the laws are in your state about it. I do know in Washington state it is NOT against the law to spank an child when it is called for I have a policeman tell me this for one and looked it up in the RCW laws. This is one of those occassions it is called for. Check the laws of the state about it. If your against spanking and by the way spanking is not hitting or beating as some believe it is a form of effective and quick discipline that tells the child you mean business. Don't threaten. But if your are against the swat or afraid of legal repercussions stop your shopping. It might be inconvinent but your child needs to know your the boss and take him out of the store to your car. Firmly tell him if he continues his misbehavior your not taking him shopping he will stay with grandma, auntie, neighbor whoever. If he still persists he will lose a privilage, bed time story, or toy he likes, something that means something to him. Tell him no and make sure he knows you mean NO! Be very very firm. Let him know the second he act up he is going out to the car and sit in time out quietly for 2 minutes. Add to the time until he sits quietly. I know this may be time consuming but he needs to know NOW your not going to allow this unruly behavior. If your with another adult have then take him out or you take him and have a shopping list they can continue shopping for you. Do NOT bribe him. You say you have other children. Buy them a treat for being good and do not get any for the naughty child. If he gets upset tell him naughty children do not get nor do they deserve a treat just eat the treat everyone else has and don't give him any at all, when he gets home he gets put to bed. Do not give in and do not let your other children give him anything. He will learn naughty behavior will not be rewarded but good behavior will be. I raised 4 of my own, 3 sons and a daughter and 3 foster kids. Hope something in here helps.

An unruly child only means one thing, he lacks attention and you should provide that or he will forever think that life has deprived him of something important. I raise my children like they are the center of the universe and they never lack for any love or attention. I stop whatever I am doing when they need to talk to me. They get satisfied and go away and have children fun. They just want to know that I am there for them and that they are never a bother to me. I do not manage my children whether they are babies or grown up. I treat them as human beings who happen to be mine and I love them above all others. That is all that they need from me. They can fight their battles outside knowing that their citadel, their fortress is always safe and will also keep them safe no matter what happens outside. Children are so easy. It is parents who never learned parenting from their own parents that need to learn stuff.

My daughter is 2 and exactly the same, I find allowing her to walk eases many of the screams, I ignore the tantrums and carry her if she is refusing to walk nicely. Most importantly i think its best not to have any expectations of them, but realise that at 2 they cant control their frustrations and thats what causes the tantrums so expect some trouble obviously. Try not to let it upset you or stress you out and trust me I know how hard that is lol but the more we get wound up the more they do it. Take it one day at a time and it will pass in time x

My son is 2 years old. Goes through this sometimes. A friend has a young one 3/4 years old now. I've noticed very often that she will take him away from what has him so excited. After talking to him or spanking him (depending upon what's needed at the time), he comes back very much more a little boy rather than a lost boy from neverland. Try this one next time (it helps with my son): I get down to his level to look him straight in the eye. I talk very quietly so he has to be quiet to listen to me. If he has trouble looking at me (focusing) I put my hands on either side of his eyes like blinders for a horse. I quietly tell my son that he can hold an item or help me shop but if he continues what he's doing he will ONLY get a spanking. If my son acts up again, I proceed to "tan his hide." My mother's favorite saying: If you try to embarrass me, I will embarrass you back. (I still don't think I actually succeeded in embarrassing my mother but she SURE knew how to embarrass me to the point I did NOT repeat those offenses again.) Two year olds only want attention. Have your son help you get all the groceries. And I mean EVERYTHING. Have him get the boxes and put them in the basket/cart. Have him slide out the bag of rice. Have him get the two liters of drink or soda (with help). Hand EVERYTHING to him first to put in the basket. Busy bees aren't bored. Help him with the glass containers and show him how to set it down softly (or you could just do these containers yourself). But have him do everything. If possible from the front seat of the cart, if he gets too all over the place. Oh yeah, and screaming gets my son either a pop on the mouth (which actually sounds worse than it feels cuz his mouth is open so it's a very loud sound) or a pop in the britches.

I paid a therapist A LOT of money for this information that I'm about to give you for free. LOL She told me that when you're little one is misbehaving, all he is really after is your attention. It doesn't matter if it brings negative attention, he just wants you to pay him attention. So.....what you do is ignore him. She told me to put my little one in time out for one minute for every year he is old. So, yours would go in for two minutes. If he makes noise, throws a fit, etc.... you tell him Mommy can't speak to him until he's done his time out. I even did this to him in the stores, etc. It was a lot of work. At first. But after my little one realized I wasn't going to give him the attention he was after, he really would quiet down and take his time out. Oh, she also said that you can spank him if that's something you don't have trouble with. Just one swat on the butt. My little one is seven now and I'm glad the "terrible years" are over! Just stay strong & consistent. Oh, she also said to praise him when he is behaving. "Mommy's so proud of how good you're being in the store", etc.etc. Hope this helps!

a leash? This is a tough problem. Other than staying firm and telling him no and preventing him from repeating negative behavior, I don't know what else there is to do. It is just a struggle that hopefully you'll win. Good luck!