Disciplining Children
When your kids want something and they don’t get it, do they immediately go into long tantrums? I was with my three-year old kid Nicky at the mall today and he spotted a battery-operated toy airplane on display. He said he wanted that toy and I told him that he couldn’t have it because he has a lot of toys at home already.
My son said he wanted it and started doing nasty things to get my attention. I was stern and told him, no, he couldn’t have the toy. He started screaming and kicking. Just to make him stop, I told him, we’re going to have ice cream.
How do you deal with that behavior especially when you’re in public? I didn’t have the same problem with my older child Fifi so I don’t have any idea on what to do with Nicky. I consulted my older sister who has 3 kids all of them grew up to be well-adjusted young adults.
My sister told me to tell my kid before we go to the mall what we are going to do and that buying on a new toy is not planned. When the child knows what the purpose is in going out, he’ll less likely to do something else that is not part of the purpose. The child should understand what is expected of him.
My sister adds that after explaining what is expected of my child, I should give him an idea of the consequences of his action if he follows it or if it doesn’t follow it. When I tell him that we will buy him school needs and not toys, I should tell what will happen if he insists on buying things that are not in our list of things to buy. I may say that I will not buy him the pencil case of his choice if we buy a toy.
It can be very stressful when you are with a three-year old at the mall and he’s bugging you to buy this and that. You don’t want to spoil your child but you also don’t want to make your child feel that he is unloved. It may be very difficult to balance the two but as all other things, mothering is something that you can learn while doing it!