Your out in a public place, your preschool aged child begins to throw a fit. What is your plan of action?

Well this has happened to me before.  I had my eldest son, who was somewhere between 3 and 4 with me.  My eldest daughter was in school and my hubby was at home doing something.  I am not sure why I decided to take my son with me to the grocery store, I remember that he wanted to come, but I don't remember what possessed me to actually take him when my hubby was home to watch him...hmmm that was 10 years ago, so the brain cells have been dying...

Back to my story...I talked to my son before we got into the store and told him that we were going to get a few groceries and then we were going home.  I had  just walked in the store by the deli counter and he started pitching a fit.  For what, I don't remember, I gave him one warning, reminding him to be good or I was going to have to take him home.  He continued with the fit, so I calmly took his hand and we started back to the car.  By the way, the fit only got louder as he was screaming that he didn't want to go home.  Oh well, I got to go back and shop in peace. 

After this incident, you would think that I would have learned my lesson.  Nope!  It actually happened again.  I had a full cart of groceries.  I asked the clerk to put the cart in their fridge, I took the kids home, and then went back and purchased my groceries.

I now have learned my lesson.  My children DO NOT come grocery shopping with me unless it is an emergency.  As I see it, spouses are supposed to help parent (although back then my hubby called it babysitting!), so if the family wants to eat, we all have to work together to make Mom's shopping experience pleasant.

Nope, never experienced this... my boys are perfect in public! SIKE!!! Oh, i'm a funny girl this morning.

Gabriel has started to get grumpy in stores and tired and throw a fit and I usually take him aside, get him calm and put him back in the cart.  He is not of the age where he wants toys, etc when we are in the store very much. He likes to hold his yogurt when we go grocery shopping and has a fit if we don't let him. 

Joshua is only 8 weeks and he hates his car seat so I constantly have a screaming child with him but it is what it is.  I don't think of it as a temper tantrum with him, he is just adjusting to the world and needs to get used to it. 

This reminds me of the time when Mrs. C (that's what my son calls her) picked the girls up and said she had to run to the grocery store. As she would be driving right passed my house to go home, I asked if I could tag along since I needed a couple things.

These are the girls I had 5 days, 10 hr days, each week for 5 yrs. Since the youngest was just an infant, they went everywhere I went; stores, friends, family, post office and bank, etc. Never had a problem. Until this day!

They were running all over the store, picking things up and throwing them on the floor, whining and screaming at their mother. After 10 mins, I looked at the girls and said in my very best "Mrs. Dee" voice "Is this behavior appropriate?" At ages 4 and 7, they knew the answer. They stopped and looked at me as if they had not seen me get into their car to come along. They each asked if they could go back to the things they dropped and put them away before they came back to stand next to the cart and me.

To say their mother was speechless would be putting it mildly! They stayed by my side except when they asked to go look at something. I always let them look at anything as long as they didnt touch and on occasion when they behaved well and weren't expecting it, I would buy them the item. They knew that day they would not be getting anything. I never said anything more than what I related. I never had to cuz the girls knew I just expected them to behave. I never yelled. I never threatened. I never bribed. But I did encourage them to look but not touch by doing the same unless I was purchasing the item.

Until that day, their mother never expected them to behave in stores. She does now! And I'm proud to say, these girls do behave in stores w/ their mother. If they start to get off track, she looks at them and asks if she should call me to come join them? LOL!

Now MY son is another story! I guess I got better w/ age cuz this lil guy used to drive me to distraction in the stores! He didn't throw fits so much as 2 different behaviors that I saw as much worse!

He liked to play hide and seek w/ him under and behind the racks and shelves! This was just after John Walsh lost his lil boy and the stores started to use the "Code Adam". Yes, I did have to get them to do that once. I was asked never to come back to that store again.

The other behavior was to ask if he could have something. When I would say no, he would question me like an attorney! I'm serious! I didn't get the normal "whys" and "how comes" but a speech that he would try to include other adults into to convince me to buy the item for him! LOL!

Savannah's my good girl and I have never had any trouble with her.  Shelby on the other hand, is my 'spiritted' child.  I make sure she is not sleepy, not hungry and doesn't have to go potty..then I will take her if I have to.  Most of the time when it is just the 2 of us she is fine, especially if she gets to hold 'the list'.  She thinks its a very important job.  If you let her get the receipt she is in heaven!!

However, there have been times that she has been taken out to the car by wither DH or Stacie. 

If it's too bad we would leave(only happend once between the 3) Other wise I tell them what is up &  whats going to happen when we get to the car or home.