Hi Lorraine - I have to have a little chuckle to myself about this. I have had some "incredible" experiences of tantrums from my eldest (3), and I know that I've got it all to come again, but even worse this time, with my youngest daughter (17mths). Looking back, my daughter had a monumental tantrum in Superdrug (Chester). For a start, there was only one (rather spotty and drippy) teenage boy on the counter at a busy lunchtime. My daughter (with a "hungry tummy") had spotted the crisps at the check out which, I refused to buy - as next stop was lunch. She proceeded to go into "meltdown". Along with that, my youngest started up in full sympathy for her sister with her own take on toddler tantrums at the age of 8 months!! I looked around in haste to see if there were any other staff working and announced "aren't there any more people working here today, you can see I've got my hands full" All at once people seemed to appear out of the shelves, stock room, under the checkouts, all, seemingly, to get rid of the harrassed mother and vile children in the shop!! Once out of the shop, now on the street, my daughter threw herself on the floor exclaiming that "I can't possibly walk - i need to be carried!" At that point I decided to leave her!! People stared at me like I was a boil on the face of humanity, they looked at my daughter like she was the most neglected child in the country. It was a real - "I wish some form of magic could transport me immediately to the car" moment. My daughter followed me, shouting "Mummy, Mummy, I can't walk my legs have fallen off" at my deaf ears - through the crowds eventually to the car, where I decided to put them in the car and DRIVE!!!!! Oh, the joy of toddlerdom!!! I embrace it now, and have a quiet laugh to myself at the times I look at other Mummys in similar situations and think...thank goodness it's not me....today!!!!!

Hi Lorraine. When my children have played up in shops I have always ignored anyone looking at me, I think to myself I don't know them and will probably never see them again so what does it matter what they think! I agree with Victoria that you need to look them in the eye and show you mean it, let them know that you are serious in what you say you will do. If you don't carry out what you have said, they will always play up as they know you don't mean what you have said. You can then say 'remember what happened last time'. Eventually they realise the tantrums aren't worth it!

Hi Lorraine, I am so with you on this. It is so embarassing and humiliating to have a toddler throwing a tantrum in a shop (or the street!) I tend to grab them really firmly by the hand, get down to their level and look then straight in the eye. I tell them that if they don't stop I will take them to the car and they can stay there. I then proceed to march them out of the shop! ( a real pain if you are near the front of the queue...but I do it). Usually, I don't get very far before I hear "I don't want to go to the car" at which point I make them promise to behave and go back! I have found that unless I really mean to carry out my threat they can sense it and ignore me...so I have to stand by it! As for the onlookers - I think it's just sad that they have nothing better to do than stand and gorp!