Raising my son as a single parent, I didn’t have time to indulge him or give in to the tantrums and bad behavior that would occur when we went out. Until the age of 4, I knew I had to eat fast when we went to a restaurant. By the time he was done eating, he would get restless and I wasn’t going to ruin everyone’s meal by listenting to him fuss. So I knew it wasn’t worth a scene just to get him to behave.

The worst time was going to the market. Why do they always act up there? Must be all the bright lights and colors. They want to walk on their own and touch everything. I wasn’t about to let him have his way, so everytime we were out in stores, I immediately had him put his hands in his pockets. Sometimes it worked better than others, but he knew the routine.

In our home, it was a definite time out. If he got too crazy and wouldn’t listen, his spot was in the corner with the timer set at 1 minute. He had to stay quiet and wait for the timer. The time increased as he got older.

By the time he was 5, he had his first dog. Beau was a large 2 year old Sheltie and he and my son became immediate friends. Beau was his dog, except when I spoke to him. Then both of them looked like they were in trouble!

As my son got older, Beau would help me with the time out. If Damian moved when I left the room, Beau sat there watching him for me and would immediately let me know when Damian wasn’t following the “rule”.

How do you handle tantrums with your children?

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