How to Get Your Kids To Behave In Public

Before you take your child out in public make sure he or she understands what you expect of them. Also, let them know what the punishment will be if they choose not to behave.

The first step can be tricky because a child needs to be almost two years old before he or she can really understand consequences to an unwanted behavoir.

Once you feel your child is old enough to understand consequences let them know what kind of behavior you expect from them, such as sitting in the grocery cart, staying right next to you while at a store, holding your hand in the parking lot, etc.

Let the child know what the consequence will be if he or she does not behave the way you would like them to. A consequence could be leaving the store without getting groceries (I really hope this doesn't happen), giving a time out in public, going to the car for a time out, etc.

Make sure your child understands what you expect and the consequences for not behaving, but don't go on and on about it.

Once in public thank your child for their good behavior, if he or she does start to misbehave, let the child know you do not like that behavior, remind them of the consequence as previously discussed and give a warning.

If the behavior continues this then it is time for the consequence. This may mean leaving the store and not getting your groceries. It is difficult to do since you are already there getting your groceries, but it should send a message to the child that you are serious and hopefully it only happens once.

If you have to leave for the consequence, stay calm (I know, sometimes easier said than done) and explain to your child that you have to leave because he or she was not behaving in the way you expected, and you warned him or her to stop the unwanted behavior and they chose not to stop so it was time to leave.

The next time you are going to a public place go through the steps again with your child, you may want to remind them of the last time they were in public. Praise them if they were good and gently remind them if you had to leave because of unwanted behavior.

A little bribery can work sometimes, especially if you have to run an errand that your little one will find completely boring. If you have to go to the bank and the post office and you know your little one will be bored try promising a stop at the park on the way home as a reward for good behavior.

Once your child is behaving in public on a regular basis, surprise him or her with a stop at the park or some other fun place as a thank you and encouragement to keeping up the good behavior.

This should get easier once your child realizes you are not bluffing and hopefully public outings will all go smoothly!