Grocery store and Other public places strategies

Delitachan

Okay ladies, I think most of our LOs are reaching the age (or are at the age) of the pre-terrible twos. 

My question is how do you handle grocery shopping and other errands with your LOs? My LO is great in his car seat - he loves it. But come grocery store, he'll last about 10 minutes in the shopping cart and then start whining. The only thing that allows me to shop in peace is to feed him a steady stream of snacks (cheerios, teething wafers, etc) or I can buy another 10 min if I give him my phone. Sometimes, he will be distracted playing with a stuffed toy, but wants to bite the tags. Yesterday, he got the cup of starbucks water and he drank from it, then turned it upside down to see the water drip out of the straw hole. It kept him occupied really well but he got himself all wet in the process.

bankssl1

I have started ordering my groceries online and picking them up at Wal Mart to avoid the meltdowns.. Jack usually does pretty good but has a complete melt down almost every time we get to the check out line because I won't let him play with the credit card key pad thing.. I even had a lady roll her eyes at him the other day because he was going nuts 

lm45678

Snacks! Hahah

Savannah has thrown a tantrum in a store a couple of times where she throws herself on the floor and screams. As long as she is safe I just stand there and the when she calms down a little I say "are you ready" and we move on. I also let her walk around the store with me when possible instead of having her in the cart.

Delitachan

@bankssl1 Funny, my LO is actually calm at the checkout because he's fascinated by the conveyor belt and all the items moving across. He's also fascinated by the cashiers.

@laurenm2123 lol I wish I could let LO walk around, but once he's down, putting him back on results in screaming. I can't let him walk much because he only started learning so he stumbles a lot and often tries to just crawl around some, which is gross in store floors.

meggyme

I second grocery delivery. But when I have to take Jackie I try to hand her things she can safely play with as I go. A container of cinnamon, a small can of beans, the bag of dog treats... she likes to play with the different textures and sounds.

splsmama2016

Snacks, her Contigo water bottle that she can press the button and it pops open, I bring a few electronic vtech toys for her. And lastly, I cave and give her my shopping list.

meggyme

splsmama2016 said:

Snacks, her Contigo water bottle that she can press the button and it pops open, I bring a few electronic vtech toys for her. And lastly, I cave and give her my shopping list.

I give the shopping list up too. I always have to keep an eye out for it though or she'll throw it overboard.

Tawny87

Cam does pretty good most of the time. My 4 yr olds on the other hand...

laurendiaz02

Snacks and toys/safe food items to play with. Lol. I can't give him paper or cardboard because he will eat them. Hahaha. He actually does very well most of the time, so I can't complain. 

vintagevix2016

Damien loves being in the grocery cart, so we haven't had too much trouble with that just yet. I bring a couple of small toys and cheerios just in case, but he is usually too fascinated by what's going on around him to care. 

He can get antsy after a little while if he's in a non-grocery store though since he's usually in his stroller. I guess the stroller isn't as exciting as the grocery cart. 

I found that if I do my errands right after a nap and decent meal, he's good to go overall. Sometimes it doesn't work out that way but I tried to be prepared nonetheless. He's walking now but still crawls as well sometimes so I don't trust letting him walk at stores since I don't want him crawling on the floors like @Delitachan mentioned.

Delitachan

Wow. Just wow. LO had an epic meltdown at Walmart. He shrieked as if he was being murdered.
While at Chick Fil A, he refused to eat his nuggets because he wanted my waffle fries. I really don't want him eating junk food over protein. Well, he wasn't having it. He was swatting away everything, including his sippy cup. He finally stopped when we gave him a waffle fry. All in all, he refused his nuggets and chicken soup.
At Walmart, he was hungry because he didn't eat but two waffle fries. So he was fussy and when I tried to feed him the nuggets, he pushed him away. I silenced him with a Gerber brocolli and cheese twist. Husband came by and he cried to be held. Wish granted, since husband loves bonding with him. He also let him walk around, but he reverted to crawling and so he was picked up. Nope. Screeching.
Finally, husband put him back in the cart so that he can grab some stuff. Nope nope nope. He just bawled and bawled and shoved his toys out of the way. I tried to give him his favorite toy and he cried harder.
We think he was tired/hungry. It was close to his bed time and he only stopped crying at the store when we finally gave him another crunchy twist at the check out or if DH was holding him. While he was being held, he was sucking his fingers peacefully, something he does when he's tired or groggy.

I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

meggyme

Delitachan said:

*snip*
I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

I don't think this is anger. I think this is tired/hungry toddler behavior. We all get cranky when we are tired and hungry and then things don't go how we want them to. And toddlers can't handle their emotions about the simplest things. I wouldn't worry.

lm45678

Delitachan said:

Wow. Just wow. LO had an epic meltdown at Walmart. He shrieked as if he was being murdered.
While at Chick Fil A, he refused to eat his nuggets because he wanted my waffle fries. I really don't want him eating junk food over protein. Well, he wasn't having it. He was swatting away everything, including his sippy cup. He finally stopped when we gave him a waffle fry. All in all, he refused his nuggets and chicken soup.
At Walmart, he was hungry because he didn't eat but two waffle fries. So he was fussy and when I tried to feed him the nuggets, he pushed him away. I silenced him with a Gerber brocolli and cheese twist. Husband came by and he cried to be held. Wish granted, since husband loves bonding with him. He also let him walk around, but he reverted to crawling and so he was picked up. Nope. Screeching.
Finally, husband put him back in the cart so that he can grab some stuff. Nope nope nope. He just bawled and bawled and shoved his toys out of the way. I tried to give him his favorite toy and he cried harder.
We think he was tired/hungry. It was close to his bed time and he only stopped crying at the store when we finally gave him another crunchy twist at the check out or if DH was holding him. While he was being held, he was sucking his fingers peacefully, something he does when he's tired or groggy.

I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

I think he's just a normal toddler unfortunately. Savannah had a major meltdown at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago and I wound up in tears. Some days being the mom of a toddler is just so incredibly difficult.

Delitachan

laurenm2123 said:

Delitachan said:

Wow. Just wow. LO had an epic meltdown at Walmart. He shrieked as if he was being murdered.
While at Chick Fil A, he refused to eat his nuggets because he wanted my waffle fries. I really don't want him eating junk food over protein. Well, he wasn't having it. He was swatting away everything, including his sippy cup. He finally stopped when we gave him a waffle fry. All in all, he refused his nuggets and chicken soup.
At Walmart, he was hungry because he didn't eat but two waffle fries. So he was fussy and when I tried to feed him the nuggets, he pushed him away. I silenced him with a Gerber brocolli and cheese twist. Husband came by and he cried to be held. Wish granted, since husband loves bonding with him. He also let him walk around, but he reverted to crawling and so he was picked up. Nope. Screeching.
Finally, husband put him back in the cart so that he can grab some stuff. Nope nope nope. He just bawled and bawled and shoved his toys out of the way. I tried to give him his favorite toy and he cried harder.
We think he was tired/hungry. It was close to his bed time and he only stopped crying at the store when we finally gave him another crunchy twist at the check out or if DH was holding him. While he was being held, he was sucking his fingers peacefully, something he does when he's tired or groggy.

I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

I think he's just a normal toddler unfortunately. Savannah had a major meltdown at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago and I wound up in tears. Some days being the mom of a toddler is just so incredibly difficult.

What do you consider a major meltdown? For me, it's just my LO shrieking and crying. He doesn't throw anything or thrash on the floor - he just cries and cries. Loud.
Thing is, this is happening very often. The daycare does tell us that he's gotten more temperamental. 

Tawny87

Delitachan said:

laurenm2123 said:

Delitachan said:

Wow. Just wow. LO had an epic meltdown at Walmart. He shrieked as if he was being murdered.
While at Chick Fil A, he refused to eat his nuggets because he wanted my waffle fries. I really don't want him eating junk food over protein. Well, he wasn't having it. He was swatting away everything, including his sippy cup. He finally stopped when we gave him a waffle fry. All in all, he refused his nuggets and chicken soup.
At Walmart, he was hungry because he didn't eat but two waffle fries. So he was fussy and when I tried to feed him the nuggets, he pushed him away. I silenced him with a Gerber brocolli and cheese twist. Husband came by and he cried to be held. Wish granted, since husband loves bonding with him. He also let him walk around, but he reverted to crawling and so he was picked up. Nope. Screeching.
Finally, husband put him back in the cart so that he can grab some stuff. Nope nope nope. He just bawled and bawled and shoved his toys out of the way. I tried to give him his favorite toy and he cried harder.
We think he was tired/hungry. It was close to his bed time and he only stopped crying at the store when we finally gave him another crunchy twist at the check out or if DH was holding him. While he was being held, he was sucking his fingers peacefully, something he does when he's tired or groggy.

I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

I think he's just a normal toddler unfortunately. Savannah had a major meltdown at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago and I wound up in tears. Some days being the mom of a toddler is just so incredibly difficult.

What do you consider a major meltdown? For me, it's just my LO shrieking and crying. He doesn't throw anything or thrash on the floor - he just cries and cries. Loud.
Thing is, this is happening very often. The daycare does tell us that he's gotten more temperamental. 

If you are concerned then I would see his Dr and discuss it. From what I've gone through with my daughters it seems normal, though some kids tantrum more than others.

lm45678

Delitachan said:

laurenm2123 said:

Delitachan said:

Wow. Just wow. LO had an epic meltdown at Walmart. He shrieked as if he was being murdered.
While at Chick Fil A, he refused to eat his nuggets because he wanted my waffle fries. I really don't want him eating junk food over protein. Well, he wasn't having it. He was swatting away everything, including his sippy cup. He finally stopped when we gave him a waffle fry. All in all, he refused his nuggets and chicken soup.
At Walmart, he was hungry because he didn't eat but two waffle fries. So he was fussy and when I tried to feed him the nuggets, he pushed him away. I silenced him with a Gerber brocolli and cheese twist. Husband came by and he cried to be held. Wish granted, since husband loves bonding with him. He also let him walk around, but he reverted to crawling and so he was picked up. Nope. Screeching.
Finally, husband put him back in the cart so that he can grab some stuff. Nope nope nope. He just bawled and bawled and shoved his toys out of the way. I tried to give him his favorite toy and he cried harder.
We think he was tired/hungry. It was close to his bed time and he only stopped crying at the store when we finally gave him another crunchy twist at the check out or if DH was holding him. While he was being held, he was sucking his fingers peacefully, something he does when he's tired or groggy.

I just feel a bit discouraged because I feel like my son is going to have anger issues as a kid. I'm afraid that he's too temperamental and I'll have an angry child instead of a sweet boy. I hope this isn't his personality and he outgrows it.

I think he's just a normal toddler unfortunately. Savannah had a major meltdown at Cheesecake Factory a few weeks ago and I wound up in tears. Some days being the mom of a toddler is just so incredibly difficult.

What do you consider a major meltdown? For me, it's just my LO shrieking and crying. He doesn't throw anything or thrash on the floor - he just cries and cries. Loud.
Thing is, this is happening very often. The daycare does tell us that he's gotten more temperamental. 

She was screaming, throwing things on the floor, throwing herself on the floor and crying at the top of her lungs. It was horrifying, another woman actually said something to me.

I took her out of the restaurant probably 5 times to try to calm her down.

lm45678

I agree with @tawny87 though- if it's something that you're really concerned about I would bring it up with the pediatrician 

meggyme

Could she be teething on top of everything? Jackie is working on her molars and she is NOT her normal self. Her fuse is much shorter and has been for the last week or so.

Delitachan

My LO might be. I thought molars were at 18 months? Yeah I do see one completely out.
What do you all suggest on how to handle tantrums and such like this?

lm45678

Savannah has all 4 molars coming in now- they're all breaking through at the same time and it definitely has affected her mood.

I am definitely not an expert on this, I try to either just have patience and let her throw her fit or remove her from the situation if possible. 

If shes he's really acting up (being openly defiant) I will put her in time out for 5-10 seconds. Then I say "are you ready" and take her to play or read to her. Her daycare teacher is the one who told us to say "are you ready" so I try to really stick to that method for consistency. 

I find it it very hard to discipline at this age, especially as a FTM so I asked her teacher for guidance.

lyoash31

Teething and a cold has made both boys absolutely cranky,  so I was that mom in the check out line at Costco on Monday... both of them screaming in unison about having to stay in the cart seats while I just stood there and laughed.  Everyone was staring at us.  Thankfully no one said anything rude,  and one kind lady helped me get my groceries onto the conveyor belt. Normally they love going grocery shopping. 

adiaz132003

Delitachan said: be

My LO might be. I thought molars were at 18 months? Yeah I do see one completely out.
What do you all suggest on how to handle tantrums and such like this?

Molars are atls soon as 14 months, the canines are 18. Supposedly the worst.

meggyme

I was at Carter's over the weekend with Jackie and totally let her play with a stuffed animal while we were shopping and then putting it back on the rack with a crumpled up tag at the checkout. I almost did the same thing last week with a light up toy for the target dollar section, but it was a dollar so I bought it instead...