Totally OT - Behaviour in Supermarkets

Oct 11, 2009 65 Replies

It's terribly hard to work out the "reward" some times. I suspect you might have missed what your eldest was treating as a reward for the paddys. It could be something like leaving the shop before finishing what you went there for, as they didn't like that shop for some reason.

I think the keys are not to give in once you have said no(*) and if you make a threat be prepared to carry that threat out. So don't make threats you can't carry out! It only takes one or two threats not to be carried out for the child to come to the conclusion that threats are harmless and can be sfely ignored.

(*) At least not as a direct result of throwing a paddy or other unacceptable behaviour. Tell them that if they calm down behave nicely for a pewriod of time they might (don't tell them the will or promise they will) get what they want or some other reward.

If this is the u.l.m thread I'm thinking of, there's the rather crucial difference that the OP had gone beyond the checkouts when she was pulled up by shop staff.

Of course, I might have missed another thread you're referring to :-)

Pete

Small child outside shop crying loudly. Stops a bit. Cries a bit more. "Mummy, can't you hear me? I'm crying!"

Chris

The only difference it made was that he was told off instead of praised. We still finished the shopping, as we needed it, but he lost his treat (usually a magazine). Further punishments (loss of dessert and going straight to bed after his meal) followed if he didn't calm down and behave from there.

We tried offering rewards for good behaviour, we tried witholding things for bad, we tried threats of being sent straight to bed on our return home (and carried it out repeatedly). No matter what, he just seemed unable to stop the bad behaviour. He's still extremely stubborn and self-willed today, but much better behaved.

Steve W

End of August.

There were three of them, in Super U, Matignon, France.

SteveW

I know another young person who fits that description very well. Though she can behave very well when she wants to...

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