It’s true, everyday I feel like one of THOSE Moms. You know the story. The ones that have a screaming child in the middle of the grocery store, or mall, or library, or wherever. You look over, and you think, “why can’t she get her kid under control?” or maybe you don’t think that. And, if you don’t, they you’re probably a Mom yourself.
Now, that my “baby” is a willful two year old, I definitely have my hands full when shopping. He doesn’t like to sit in the front of the shopping cart anymore, so I tried letting him sit in the back for a while. Now, he’s tired of that. So, I’ve tried to let him walk around and follow me. This tactic used to work with my girl when she was about the same age, but with my boy? Forget it.
So, I’m resigned to being one of those Moms. I try the shopping cart first, and it is usually bribery that works. Hopefully I’ve prepared enough ahead to have packed snacks to bribe him with. Typical boy. Food almost always works. Sometimes, I let him walk. Like in the mall today, I had forgotten my stroller. All was going well. We weren’t in a hurry, so we were taking our time walking around. Everything was great until he saw something he wanted that he couldn’t have. Then, all you know what broke loose. He threw himself down on the ground and started crying. I just stood there, trying to avert my eyes from anyone starting at me. I’m sure there were some. After all, I have become one of those Moms. I waited for the storm to pass, and then he was back to his old self.
I’ve found that explaining the rules before an event has helped. After his tantrum, we had to walk through Nordstrom to get to our car. So, I knelt down, and told him that he had to hold Mommy’s hand while we walked through the next store. He said OK, and did great! So, for a moment I felt like I had things under control again, but don’t worry, tomorrow it will be the grocery store, and I’ll be one of THOSE Moms again.
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