When All Else Fails…Leave
Have you ever been mid grocery shopping, cart stuffed with produce and dairy products, when your child decided to throw the mother of all tantrums? How about those of you who attend church? Has a child ever hauled off and pitched an uncontrollable fit, in the middle of a sermon? Most of us have encountered at least one occasion when our children turn rotten and force us to compromise our pride, our patience, or even the whole errand. This was the case with our family vacation.
I have to start by saying, the car ride to our destination was very pleasant. The survival tips that I shared, worked wonders. The kids did not fight, even once. It was three hours of fun, as odd as that may sound. The first day at my in laws’ house was great. We played in the pool, ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed each other’s company. I think that first day was just enough to satiate their hunger for non stop fun. They passed out early and woke up late, which is a first in our family. Then, for some reason, things took a wrong turn and our trip went careening down the happy hill toward the valley of grump. The second day was filled with disobedience, arguing, fighting, toddlers drawing on the walls and countless other misdemeanors.
We tried to reason with the older ones. We tried time outs. We tried everything we could think of, to turn their attitudes around and salvage our trip turned sour. We did not succeed. So, my husband and I did something extreme. We ended our trip. There are instances when you can change the situation by means of behavior modification and positivity. Then, there are times when that just doesn’t cut it and you have to resort to more extreme measures. Our 53.5 hour vacation was a good lesson for the kids. It showed them that Mom and Dad say what they mean and do what they say. We warned them that the trip would be cut short. They ignored the warning. We followed through. Maybe they will remember this lesson, the next time we take a trip.
Would you end an errand, an outing or even a vacation, if your children refused to stop acting out? If not, what would you do? Sound off in the comments section.
Tags: discipline, family, rules, vacationRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Family Holidays
4 opinions for When All Else Fails…Leave
Linette
Jun 3, 2008 at 2:36 pm
My son threw a fit a few years ago when we went to the store to get the supplies for his birthday party. We had the cart almost full when he threw a fit because he wanted a remote control car (the car was $115).
I left the cart and carried him out of the store, with none of the birthday supplies, or decorations we were going to buy. I warned him several times we were leaving them there and not coming back if he didn’t straighten up.
It wasn’t hard to decorate for his birthday that year:)
marye
Jun 3, 2008 at 6:48 pm
You bet. It usually doesn’t take more than once.
that girl
Jun 4, 2008 at 2:32 pm
wow - you definately did the right thing, but I don’t know if we would have had the resolve to follow through like that.
suni
Jun 4, 2008 at 8:43 pm
my son pitched a falling on the dirty floor screaming fit when i HAD to go to the grocery store for one thing we desperately NEEDED. well, he started the fit the minute we walked in so i just did a U turn and went right back out to the car. we sat there, as I waited for him to calm back down, but he never did..so I called my mother and went back to the house. it wasnt something i wanted to do, but i wasnt going to walk through the store dragging a near-infant by their ankles while they screamed the place down, ya know?
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