We have ALL be there…we are at the store grocery shopping and browsing aisles and our little starts to whine about wanting something off the perfect hight for them shelves. We say “Not today love.” And that answer was WRONG because the next thing you know, they are throwing themselves on the floor and having an epic meltdown.
You stand there for a second before the embarrassment and shame hit you like a train. With running inner dialogue like “Omg I can’t believe this is happening. Ok. Wow, that woman over there is really glaring at me. I better figure this out fast. Um…ok. Ugh. What do I do this is so embarrassing.”
It happened to me ALL the time until I implemented this simple, yet effective hack that saved me MANY meltdowns in Target.
In this post you will learn:
There is NO shame in your little throwing a tantrum
Multi-step hack for shopping with ease
Access to a communication tool for littles
Before I explain the hack, I want you to know that there is NO SHAME when your little is melting down in the store. Literally you have nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed about. Our littles are simply expressing their emotions in public and with that comes A LOT of societal pressure and stigma that is not necessary or warranted.
Now that is out of the way let’s dive into the hack!
This hack is a multi step approach to helping your little anticipate what is coming, setting ground rules for behavior and boundaries around what is and isn’t ok.
Before you leave the house
State “We are going to Target to xyz”
Set and review ground rules/boundaries (examples below)
At Target we keep our hands to ourselves
We use walking feet (or sit calmly in cart)
We are going to get X,Y, and Z. We will not have time to go by the toy section. If we see the toy section we will wave “Hi!” And visit it another time.
Driving to Target
Review what you are going to Target for
Review ground rules
At Target
Catch them following the rules! “I love your walking feet!” “Great work sitting safely in the cart!”
Helpful phrases
“We can get that another time, it is not on our list today!”
“We can’t go into the toy section today but next time we can for 5 minutes”
“That looks like a fun X, let’s take a picture to remember it”
This may all seem silly and redundant but I swear doing this multi-step hack worked WONDERS with my littles at the store. If you do want to browse the toy section, we set a timer for five minutes and they can look with their eyes at the toys. Sometimes there was a tantrum here or there when the timer went off but because timers are a huge transition tool in our every day life, they have gotten used to ending whatever they are doing when the timer goes off!
Communication is KEY when you are raising your littles and moving through every day life. Tantrums are always a display of a need your little is trying to communicate with you! That is why I love Talking to Toddlers: Dealing with Terrible Twos and Beyond. It is an easy way to set yourself up for parenting success and life long communication with your little! $37 for lifetime access to a course that teaches using principles from NLP and hypnotherapy. If you aren’t familiar with NLP it stands for Neuro-linguistic programming and is ALL about how we learn and process language— a super powerful tool when wanting to raise kind and loving humans!
When you implement this hack, be sure to be consistent. The more you follow the steps, stay true to your word and honor the boundaries set— the better off you will be. Our littles thrive on clear and conscious boundaries and feel proud when they are able to be safe within space we’ve given them!
And if you want to go even further consider grabbing The Aligned Parents Mini Course.
What if you understood your child’s the fundamental reasons for why your kid is the way he/she is? There is a module on Temperament which breaks down in simple language why our kids think and act the way that they do! Or do you know what your parenting style is and the different types? There is a module explaining and breaking it down for you! This mini-course will give you valuable and insightful knowledge that will change your parenting forever.
For $22 you get six mini-lessons that cover areas in development, parenting styles, discipline, challenging behaviors, temperament, and characteristics of strong families. With included workbooks you will be able to answer questions, take notes, and retain the information provided.
Happy shopping friends and if you want to take your learning another step further, check out my FREE Video Training: Stop Yelling at your Littles