Children that throw temper tantrums in the store really cannot be blamed. It’s the parent’s fault for letting it get that far. If you know your child is spoiled and you can’t say “No”, why do you bring them to the store?
The other day at Wally-world I saw a kid acting utterly crazy. I mean this girl was at least four or five years old (okay maybe she was a big 3, it doesn’t matter) and was kickin’ and screamin’ in the deli section. Her mother was trying to pick her up off the floor and get her to be quiet. This little girl was getting louder and louder. My no-nonsense mommy radar went up and I was ready to go over there and handle the situation myself. “Ma’am, I’ll handle this since obviously you can’t”, I would have said. Then I would have proceeded to yank that little hellion…er, angel, off the floor so hard that she would be in shocked into silence. Then I would tell her to straighten up right now or I would give her something to cry about. And if I heard one more peep out of her it would be me and her together on the floor doing the belt to buttocks two-step.
I didn’t do that of course but I wanted to and I threw my share of annoyed glances that way. Now my children have tried that before, but they were one and two years old. That child we just to big to be going on like that. When my kids decided they wanted to fall out in the store I simply picked them up and took them outside. I gave them a couple of well placed swats on the hind parts and took them back into the store or we went home.
I admit that there were time when they were tired or hungry that the whined and cried. I did what I could to soothe them but to act out because I wouldn’t buy them something was a well understood no-no. Before we went into the store I would spell out the rules. No running. No leaving mommy and wandering off. No begging for everything. If any of the rules were broken we would pay a visit to the bathroom. We would leave the grocery cart and go home and they would be on punishment or worse (depending on the infraction). The point is that kids can learn how to control themselves. They have to be taught consequences and rewarded with positive reinforcement.
I don’t pretend to be an expert on parenting and discipline but I do know that kids need and like boundaries. They don’t know what they are supposed to do because they have been in this world only for so long. They need parents to guide them and encourage them to be their best. The short-term victory of getting their way does nothing in the long-term to make them better people and tolerable by the rest of the world. Why do them the disservice of neglecting to teach them self-discipline and self-control? Why launch them into the world to wreak havoc on innocent people because they didn’t learn how to behave in Wally-world?
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
