Don't Make Your Kids Behave: Help Them Behave

This great article by John Hoffman restates an obvious, but often overlooked, truth in dealing with children: telling them to behave isn't nearly as effective as helping them behave.  Every teacher and every parent has found themself in the position of sounding like a broken record when dealing with the kids in their care.  Telling a young child to wait, clean up or sit still is a enormous, sometimes impossible, request.  But, especially under the pressure of being in public, parents and teachers seem to expect their charges to develop these abilities unassisted.

The next time you're in the checkout line at the grocery store and your little ones start to misbehave, distract them with a game.  Reach out and take their hand.  Talk about the things you see around you, or what you'll do once you leave the store.  Let's face it: the checkout line is boring.  A bored child is going to find a way to entertain himself, and not necessarily in a way you'll like.

Battle: Grocery Store

Everyone with a pair of working eyes or ears has seen or heard it: the battle of the grocery store.  The haggard parent remains grim and silent while the child prattles endlessly, begging for everything salty or sugary in sight.  Or perhaps the parent utters a quiet line of excuses and explanations in a flat monotone: No, we're not getting that because it's full of sugar.  That's not good for you.  That's nothing but a salt lick.

A parent at the end of their rope sometimes snaps, and their voice grows louder and, frankly, more annoying than the child.  Another parent gets to the last straw and growls in a low threatening voice, while firmly grasping the squirming offender's arm.

Not a very pretty picture.  Even for the best of parents, a rare bad trip to the store is to be expected; no one can remain coolly and happily in charge all the time.  But here are a few tips for those who find the grocery store terrifying.