Public Scrutiny

Disciplining Your Toddler Outside of the Home

By Lyn Mettler

There's no escaping it. At some point, if you're a mom to a toddler, you must face the inevitable tantrum in the supermarket, in the restaurant or wherever you'd least like it to happen. So rather than dreading the unavoidable, why not arm yourself with a plan for the next time your little darling turns into a little demon?

"Toddlers are never little angels in public," says Ann Douglas, 38-year-old mother of four and author of The Mother of All Baby Books : The Ultimate Guide to Your Baby's First Year (John Wiley & Sons, 2002) and The Mother of All Toddler Books (John Wiley & Sons, 2004). In fact, when her son was 2, he pulled the plug on the entire cash register system while they were shopping at a local store. "He was magnetically drawn to plugs and outlets," says Douglas.

"This is natural behavior for toddlers," says Robert Billingham, associate professor of human development and family studies at Indiana University. "Everything is so new, exciting, interesting and stimulating. They're simply responding in a curious sort of way."

Of course the best way to handle bad behavior is to avoid it, which may seem impossible when parenting a toddler. But with a few tricks under your hat, you may be able to head it off at least some of the time. "Prevention is always the best strategy with toddlers," says Douglas.

One of the best ways to prevent bad behavior is to pay attention to your little one. Before you head to the supermarket, consider a few things: Is your toddler hungry or tired? Is he having a bad day? Is he feeling sick? It's probably best to delay your trip if the answer to any of these questions is yes. Otherwise, you're just setting yourself up for trouble. But if your toddler seems to be up for an outing, there are several strategies that may help to keep misbehavior at bay.

Want to see more?

• Catch Them Being Good: Reviewing the Reward System
• Do Time-outs Work for Toddlers? Two Moms and an Expert Sound Off!
• Taking Control of Their Actions: Five Ways to Encourage Self-Discipline
• Taming Those Awful Tantrums
• Talk about it!