Who hasn’t cringed while listening to a mother yell at her child in a fastfood lane? Worse yet, who hasn’t been that parent, trying to discipline a misbehaving child when everybody around her is all ears – and all too eager to pass judgment?Children will disobey. Be disrespectful. Whine. Hit. Lie. And not always in the privacy of their own home.

Disciplining your child in public presents challenges. Who wants anyone-from a Mcdonald’s order counter to the crowd at the supermarket-to think that her child is bratty, undisciplined or downright unreasonable? Parents do not want to be embarrassed and at the same time, they don’t want to embarrass thier child in front of others they don’t know.

Here are some situations that can cause a major uproar and pose unique challenges:

1. It’s your child’s 6th birthday. As your mother-in-law expectantly watches your child opening the gift she gave, he ungratefully tosses aside the shirt with his favorite cartoon character on it saying that he doesn’t like it anymore. Then your child asks what else is there that he can like? Your mother-in-law looks shocked and crestfallen.
2. You’re at the mall with your 4-year-old daughter. She begs you to go visit the toys department. You talk to her that you are not going to buy a toy but will just take a look around. She agrees. Then she sees a new and expensive electronic toy with her favorite tv character. She then insists that you get it for her. When you say no, she cries loudly and yells her heart out.
3. You take your kindergartner to a birthday party and he begins to boss the other kids around like he is the one celebrating the party.
4. Your 5-year-old wants to go to a fastfood restaurant for lunch. You say no. In front of the supermarket checkout counter where you are lined up, she screams and hits you.
5. You take your child to the park to play. She can’t wait for the other children to get on the slide so she can have her turn. She tries to push them so she can go to the front of the line.
6. You are at a relative’s house for dinner. Your child tries to roam around the house while opening cabinets and doors.
7. You are in the church. Your 5-year-old child is walking around while singing.

All these and more are experiences we may have experienced or witnessed. Its gut-wrenching. Its embarrassing. Its humiliating even. How to handle such situations with “poise” and minimized embarrassment means being prepared to do what is best for you (and your sanity) and for your child. Giving lectures during these situations is useless because chances are, your child won’t hear you anyway. Removing your child from the situation-even if she’s kicking and screaming-is a first good step.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 24th, 2006 at 1:16 pm and is filed under behavior modification, Parenting, special education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.