Question From a Parent - Do you have any suggestions on how to handle meltdowns in public such as a store when my child does not get what he wants?I usually take him outside to the car away from the situation, but would love to figure out a way to curtail it if possible.
Answer From The In-Home Parent Coach: There are a couple of ways to handle the public meltdown situation.
In general prevention is the best way to handle these situations.
The aim of this article is to give some insight on this matter.
Prevention Tip - Do not take the child shopping at all.
One of the best ways to prevent shopping meltdowns is to not take you child shopping at all.
If for some reason your son is unable to handle going shopping in general just simply stop taking them.
If it is food shopping ask your child for some input on what kind of food/snacks he/she would like to have around the house and then pick it up from the store.
If for some reason your child needs clothes, you can always pick up the sizes, have your child try it out at home, and then return the cloths that don't fit.
The moral of the story is that there is no rule that he has to go food shopping, or any other shopping for that matter.
If he isn't there he can't have a meltdown.
This one method of prevention should get you started to help in completely avoiding your child's meltdowns completely.