Ah, nothing like a good ol’ tantrum from a 3 year old in the middle of a crowded mall.
You might hate me but I have been pretty darn lucky in this department never having dealt with a public tantrum before this moment. One minute my darling sweetie is holding my hand and skipping along being so darn good I could squeeze her. The next minute she bolts through the department store leaving her exhausted and pregnant mom chasing her with embarrassment.
When I finally reach her I am winded and she is not. I grab her arm and scold her while all the customers look at me judging. I feel their eyes burning through my head determining what kind of a job I am doing disciplining my kid in the mall. Once I am done scolding her she proceeds to lay on the floor of the dirty carpet in macy’s and not get up. I pull her arm but she is dead weight and she is smart because she KNOWS that I cannot lift her. Or shouldn’t…..
After about 30 seconds of tugging and pleading with her I fly off the handle. Mighty mom takes over and I literally throw the child over my shoulder pregnant and all and carry her cackling with laughter out the store. When we reach the exit I am about to cry (hormones). I put her down and am steaming with anger. I scold her again and the pointer finger is out. I tell her “ You don’t even know what a spanking is and mommy doesn’t believe in them but you are headed in that direction my friend. You are gonna get a spanking if you don’t watch out.”
I never imagined these words coming out of my mouth. My mom spanked me once and I remember it like it was yesterday! (I was about 4). Instead I got dial soap on my toothbrush and scraped on the bottom of my teeth. That sucked but it worked! Now that is probably frowned upon these days too… I don’t know because I have never gotten to this point with my child before!
We get in the car and the whole way home she keeps asking me if she is gonna get a spanking. I keep wondering if she knows what that is?
Later at dinner, before I even had the chance to tell hubs the story she says “Daddy, I am gonna get a spanking.”
Do you think she is off at school telling her friends/teachers that she is gonna get spanked! I am not entirely sure how to handle this though a week later she did ask me what it was and I explained it to her delicately. I told her mommy doesn’t believe in that but that she really upset me and I hope she never gets to that point again because…. Santa is watching.
GOOD OL’ SANTA! Bringing him out early. This seems to have worked because 2 weeks later she hasn’t mentioned it again. Let’s see if it lasts.
Here is a personal favorite of mine from YouTube of an adorable toddler teaching others how to throw a proper tantrum.
