If, whilst in a public space, your child behaves in such an embarrassing way that you would like the earth to swallow you up whole, please don’t feel alone, most parents are all too familiar with this feeling. A tantrum, a tirade of rudeness, wildly inappropriate behaviour – seems kids like to pick their moments and these usually involve as big an audience as possible. But breathe deeply, help is at hand!

Here is a sample of some of our easy and effective tools for solving this issue

This works really well:

PLAN AHEAD

• Before you head out, try to anticipate possible areas of conflict and make precautions. Bring a bag of healthy snacks, books, crayons or toys.
• If your children are armed with enough ‘tools for entertainment’ they are less likely to kick off or be tempted into mischief through boredom and frustration.
• You can also anticipate future trips step by step so that your child can ‘plan’ how to behave.
• The advantage of planning ahead with your child is that the plan, rather than you the parent, becomes the boss.  

Here is another suggestion:

GIVE A CHOICE

• For example “Would you like to sit still and play a game or read your book?” or “Would you like to look-out for the bus stop or shall I?”
• When we give our children a choice between two things (which suit us of course) they are immediately distracted by the need to make a decision.
• Making a decision gets children into thinking mode.
• Having made a decision your child will feel a sense of achievement and empowerment.

These are just a few examples of our Best of Parenting Tools. You can find more ideas and solutions to typical parenting challenges in our book ‘Kids Don’t Come With a Manual – The Essential Guide to a Happy Family Life‘.