You knew it was a bad idea.
But the pantry was bare, your kid squeezed in a nap, and you hoped a trip to the grocery store would be quick and painless.
But you were wrong.
Tears and a tantrum were not on your list.
A smooth trip to the grocery store is possible but it requires a little prep work. Follow this 4-step plan before you grab your cart, and a tantrum surrounded by angry onlookers will be a thing of the past.
STEP ONE: MAKE TIME TO CONNECT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE
Parents have full and busy lives and we’re often racing from one thing to the next. Yet, the more we try to push through our day, while dragging our kids along, the more we set the stage for a meltdown.
So before you head out of the house, spend 5 to 10 minutes doing Special Time with your kiddo. During Special Time you designate an amount of time that you will play whatever your child wants and offer her your full attention. Even something like a quick game of chase or checking in with your older one about his day, will help sustain him while you are out and about.
STEP TWO: KEEP YOUR CONNECTION WITH YOUR CHILD WHEN YOU’RE OUT
Before you check your shopping list to make sure you have all of the ingredients for dinner, make eye contact with your child, give her a little touch, a big smile, and short spurts of attention to keep her in the orbit of your love. It might sound simple, but it’s easy to get distracted when you’re asking the butcher for skinless chicken thighs or deciding between Dinosaur or Curly kale. What you’re telling your kids is: “I see you. I’m watching out for you. I’m glad you’re here.”
STEP THREE: GIVE YOUR KIDS ASSIGNMENTS
If they are older, give them a job to do. “Let’s see who can find the oranges.” Or “grab a bunch of grapes.” One mom I know makes a shopping list of items for her kids to find. If they’re older you can give them a budget and let them know they need to calculate how much you’ve spent so you don’t go beyond the budget.
STEP FOUR: DIFFUSE TENSION THROUGH PLAY
One mom I know whose sons started fighting over who would push the shopping cart, decided to play, “Whoever Gets the Cart, Gets My Kisses”. One of the sons let go of the cart and started laughing; the other one grabbed the cart and let his mom get a few kisses in. Then she ran back and forth between the two boys trying to catch them with her kisses as they dodged her failed attempts. Soon enough they were both pushing the cart together.
After you follow this plan, you can cut way back on grocery store trauma.
But if you haven’t preempted the meltdown with some extra good connection time and your child is screaming because you said no to caramel turtle ice cream, stay tuned until next time and we’ll talk about what to do in the throws of a full-on tantrum.
In the mean time, feel free to tell me about your most embarrassing public tantrum in the comments below and I’ll tell you about Trident Bubble Gum meltdown.
You knew it was a bad idea.
But the pantry was bare, your kid squeezed in a nap, and you hoped a trip to the grocery store would be quick and painless.
But you were wrong.
Tears and a tantrum were not on your list.
A smooth trip to the grocery store is possible but it requires a little prep work. Follow this 4-step plan before you grab your cart, and a tantrum surrounded by angry onlookers will be a thing of the past.
STEP ONE: MAKE TIME TO CONNECT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE
Parents have full and busy lives and we’re often racing from one thing to the next. Yet, the more we try to push through our day, while dragging our kids along, the more we set the stage for a meltdown.
So before you head out of the house, spend 5 to 10 minutes doing Special Time with your kiddo. During Special Time you designate an amount of time that you will play whatever your child wants and offer her your full attention. Even something like a quick game of chase or checking in with your older one about his day, will help sustain him while you are out and about.
STEP TWO: KEEP YOUR CONNECTION WITH YOUR CHILD WHEN YOU’RE OUT
Before you check your shopping list to make sure you have all of the ingredients for dinner, make eye contact with your child, give her a little touch, a big smile, and short spurts of attention to keep her in the orbit of your love. It might sound simple, but it’s easy to get distracted when you’re asking the butcher for skinless chicken thighs or deciding between Dinosaur or Curly kale. What you’re telling your kids is: “I see you. I’m watching out for you. I’m glad you’re here.”
STEP THREE: GIVE YOUR KIDS ASSIGNMENTS
If they are older, give them a job to do. “Let’s see who can find the oranges.” Or “grab a bunch of grapes.” One mom I know makes a shopping list of items for her kids to find. If they’re older you can give them a budget and let them know they need to calculate how much you’ve spent so you don’t go beyond the budget.
STEP FOUR: DIFFUSE TENSION THROUGH PLAY
One mom I know whose sons started fighting over who would push the shopping cart, decided to play, “Whoever Gets the Cart, Gets My Kisses”. One of the sons let go of the cart and started laughing; the other one grabbed the cart and let his mom get a few kisses in. Then she ran back and forth between the two boys trying to catch them with her kisses as they dodged her failed attempts. Soon enough they were both pushing the cart together.
After you follow this plan, you can cut way back on grocery store trauma.
But if you haven’t preempted the meltdown with some extra good connection time and your child is screaming because you said no to caramel turtle ice cream, stay tuned until next time and we’ll talk about what to do in the throws of a full-on tantrum.
In the mean time, feel free to tell me about your most embarrassing public tantrum in the comments below and I’ll tell you about Trident Bubble Gum meltdown.
