I was in the grocery store the other day and observed stellar parenting in action. I wish I could have placed a star on that mother's cart as an indication of her superior ability to show creative parenting. Here's what happened: They were in the cleaning materials aisle. At the far end stood one of those ubiquitous cheap toy displays right at the little girl's level. She made a selection that involved pressing buttons to make noises and showed it to her mother. "Can I get this," she asked. "Not today, honey, put it back," Mom answered, trying the easy route first. The little girl naturally responded, "But mom..." Now here's where the story diverges from the usual, "I said put it back, now do as I say" scenario. Mom saw that her daughter wanted to play with the cheap toy, so she said, "Tell you what. You can play with it when we're in this aisle, but when I turn the corner, you must put it back." WOW! The little girl got to play with the cheap toy for a few minutes, and Mom got some peace in the dangerous materials aisle. When she got to the end of the aisle, Mom reminded her daughter, "Ok, I''m ready to go to the next aisle. What do you have to do now?" WOW! Mom didn't even have to tell her daughter what to do, she simply reminded her of her obligation, letting the little girl make up her own mind. So what did the little girl do? She skipped, yes skipped, back down the aisle, put the cheap toy back exactly where it belonged, then skipped back to Mom. However, in typical little girl fashion, she just had to add as they rounded the corner, "Do you think Santa will bring that to me?" And of course, Mom responded the way all moms would have handled that question with a "We'll see!"
That just goes to show you that with a little patience and creativity, you can avert many meltdowns in the grocery store!
Happy Parenting!
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