Today Hannah and I went to Target to kill some time before heading to a playgroup. I let her walk around to get rid of some energy while I browsed the $1 section. She is obsessed with the big, red balls outside of Target. She wanted to keep touching them even though I let her touch them on the way in. She was also tired since she was woken up early to take the husband to work so she and I could have the car. I found a few Elmo and Abby plates, bowls, and cups for her. She wanted to run out the doors to the red balls while still holding the cups. I told her we could not do that since it is stealing, but of course she doesn't understand. She threw herself down on the ground right in front of the doors and screamed. I used to do whatever I could to appease her in public to avoid the tantrums, but I realized I am just making it worse so I decided to let her throw a fit in front of everyone. I received a few dirty looks, and a few looks of pity, but I didn't care. She cried almost the entire 20 minutes we were in the store. As we stood in line to buy our items, she screamed because I wouldn't let her hold the cups. She kept slamming her head into mine. Finally we were checking out, and the cashier was so nice. She bagged all of Hannah's stuff into one bag and handed it to her while putting the rest into a separate bag. I didn't even ask her to do it! I thanked her for doing that so Hannah could carry her stuff like she wanted. She said she had a brother that threw tantrums all the time so she was used to it. I am sure the people of Target were happy to see us leave.
I was hoping Hannah wouldn't inherit my stubborn gene, but I am realizing she did. I have been told to give her two options I am okay with to curb the tantrums, but what do you do when your kid always picks secret option #3 which is whatever she wants. I can't stay locked up in the house all the time. I want her to learn how to properly behave in social situations. I guess I will have many months of standing in the aisle watching my kid scream and roll on the ground.
I know this is frustrating, but you just have to laugh!
ReplyDeleteMy little sister was the exact same way. She was stubborn and had to have her way and she would throw fits like this once a day. At least! When we were out my mom would just step over her and pretned not to hear and keep shopping. I was always SO embarassed! But it's amazing how quickly she would quit when no one was paying attention to her.
Good luck with the terrible 2's!! :)
My daughter launches herself screaming on the ground at least 50% of our trips out. I just ignore her. Sometimes easier said than done. :)
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