My 3 year old has never done great in public. We thought over time that he'd get used to going places but it's only gotten worse the last few months. We've tried everything we can think of for warnings, punishment, discipline and nothing works. If we go to church, the store, out to eat, etc he keeps running away from us if he's not in a shopping cart or on a child leash. He doesn't care how far he gets or if he can't see us. When we go to eat, he refuses to eat, climbs under the table, and tries to run around the place. He tries to run out in the road with cars coming. He won't talk quietly or sit still no matter where we are. He knows he isn't supposed to be doing these things and even tells us for days afterwards how he did what he wasn't supposed to and got in trouble but he keeps doing it. We're at a loss as to what to do.
Re: Anyone else's toddler refuse to behave in public?
I know I am going to be alone in this, but a kid that runs away on purpose in public needs a spanking. There are plenty of times for warnings and natural consequences and choices, but running away is not one of them. My DD's only
I feel like we had to work on DD's running away thing for a month or 2 before she really got it. I don't believe in spanking or pinching, so we didn't go that route, but we did a LOT of consistency and reinforcement. You don't hold hands? &