|
| John Rosemond - Parenting Expert |
 |
John Rosemond is America's most widely-read parenting authority! He is a best-selling author, columnist, speaker, and family psychologist. Index | Archives | About John Rosemond | Books | Submit A Question |
|
Crying at restaurants is tough behavior to change, so eat
in Q: How should I handle an 18-month-old who cries at a restaurant because he wants out of his high chair to sit with me or someone else at our table? A: Some toddlers become “infected” with the activity of a restaurant, and some do not. Those who do become squirmy, demanding, and can be relied upon to begin crying—loudly. If you’re 90 percent certain a child is going to cry in a restaurant, then I recommend that for the time being you take your meals at home, in the car, or at picnic areas. If you insist upon fighting this unwinnable battle, about the only thing you can do—and should do for the benefit of other patrons—is take the child out of everyone’s earshot...as soon as the protests begin. A: Actually, I believe in sending all children to military school between the ages of thirteen and sixteen; unfortunately, there aren't enough to go around. All kidding aside, methinks your husband somewhat overreacted. Correction: He overreacted. Military school is not a rational response to a child sneaking out to be with friends in the middle of the night. (Since you did not tell me she and her friends did anything illegal or immoral, I’m going to assume that the thrill of sneaking out was as far as it went.) I think this is more of a safety issue than a misbehavior issue, which is why kids should know that a disproportionate percentage of people who are out in the middle of the night are not the sort one wants to invite for dinner. If your peripatetic daughter left the house with delinquency in mind, Dad’s attitude would be more justifiable, but under the circumstances, he needs to take a deep breath and watch some Marx Brothers movies. Six weeks of grounding and no technology is sufficient to make the point; besides, it’s much cheaper than military school. Flashing Cured at Three: The mom of a 3-year-old boy was, by her own admission, “horrified” at his habit of putting his hands in his pants. One day, at day care, he exposed himself to the rest of the class. (To which a great-grandmother would likely shrug and say, “Boys will be boys.”) Mom says his teacher started making him wash his hands when he violated himself, so the parents began doing the same at home. The problem is now 90 percent better. Good. Having said that, I think this was much ado about nothing. A 3-year-old boy who sticks his hand down the front of his pants and gets a huge (i.e. horrified) adult reaction will almost surely begin to entertain himself in this fashion increasingly often. Ignored, the child will find other things to do with his hands in short order. Some over-thinking folks would recoil at the notion of making the child wash his hands, speculating the obvious psychological association, but speculation is all that is. My attitude is if having him wash his hands worked, so be it. Nonetheless, I would have simply ignored. |
|
Copyright © 2000 - 2009 All Rights Reserved Washington
Publishers
This web page is best viewed in 1024 x 768 resolution.
Last updated April 2009. Over 1,194,000 page views.
This web site is maintained by Washington Publishers, Tallahassee Florida,
USA, and uses Sun Domains and Software.
To have objectionable or potentially copyrighted material evaluated
for removal on this site, click
here.
Washington Publishers is not an affiliate of Inside
Washington Publishers.
Learn more about our current privacy
and information practices.