Focus
- A bad behavior is when a child asks for something in a difficult way.
- Your child needs to know what behavior is appropriate to reduce clinginess. Praise your child when they are patient or helpful.
- If you are shopping and the children are having trouble, try to stay calm. If you have said no, don’t change your mind. Limit your child’s exposure to advertising, especially advertising aimed at children.
Why do children get into trouble?
The world is full of interesting things for your child to see. In shopping malls, most of the time, it is at your child’s eye level.
In addition, children are easily influenced by the marketing of products aimed at children, such as toys and junk food. Children do not always understand that something that is pretty, shiny, or tasty is not good for them or is not important. Children are still learning skills and self-regulation. This includes the ability to control their impulses and behave in appropriate ways.
It is natural for children to ask questions.
Sometimes your child will ask for something, and they may only ask one or two questions. This type of inquiry is different from intrusiveness. Negative is when your child asks you for something in a challenging way. For example, “Can I have a lollipop?”, “I want a lollipop!”, “Give me a lollipop!”, “Please, please, please!
It’s hard to say no when you know your child will be willing to give, or he won’t ask. But if you give in, your child will learn that boredom is expensive. Of course they will continue to fight in the future.
Minimize the addition
As children grow, they become better at understanding and managing their emotions, including emotions that come from wanting things they can’t control. In the meantime, you can also take steps to reduce the risk of bullying:
Set some ground rules before shopping. Discuss with your child what behavior is appropriate and how you will respond to bullying.
Praise your child for doing the right thing. Give your child positive attention so that he or she knows that you are interested in him or her, not judging him or her. For example, “I’m so proud that you bought for me and didn’t ask me for anything.” Provide healthy rewards for good shopping behavior. For example, “If you can get through this shopping trip without asking for anything, we’ll stop by the park on the way home” or “You can have strawberries when you get home.”
Remind your child of the ground rules you discussed.
Make sure your child sees that you have heard and understood. This will make it easier for your child to accept your response. For example, you could say, “Yes, the cookies look delicious, but we are not buying any food today.”
If you say no, stay calm and give your child an explanation. For example, “No, we can’t have ice cream now because we already had lunch.”
When you say no, stick to it. If you resist and give in, your child will learn that pestering is okay.
If you say no, acknowledge that your child is upset. For example, “I know you’re upset because you really wanted that cake. But that’s enough for today. Conversations like this can provide a message of love and help you and your child move forward.
After the rejection, try to distract your child with something else. For example, – I need a clock. Can you help me find it?
