I can't be the only one this has happened to!

[RockyisMYRhino]

Had to take DS (nearly 3) with me to the supermarket this morning as DH had a important meeting so couldn't look after him like he usually does. At the realisation daddy wasn't coming with us DS decided to turn into a demon child who would do nothing but scream and cry the whole journey there. Once we got there, he doubled up his efforts when I tried to get him to sit in the trolley and wriggle, cling and try and climb all over me to escape my efforts. I gave up at this point and then had a massive battle to get him back in the car seat while everyone walking past was giving me filthy looks (presumably because it looked like I was being extremely forceful) and having a bit of a cry myself. Please tell me I'm not alone and this has happened to someone else! Felt like an awful mum all day

Happened to me between 12-14 years ago regularly. I promise it gets easier m.

@Morgan12

Yes of course it has! You are not alone. My kids are dicks.

If it makes you feel any better my kids are dicks and they are adults 😬

I went today with 11 month old who isnt usually very chatty till late afternoon but spent an hour in Asda this morning going 'AAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHH' up and down every bloody one way isle.

I found the looks quite funny :)

Kids are kids.

My youngest was like this. Wouldn't sit in the supermarket trolley, was forever trying to stand up in the seat. Take him out of the trolley and he'd bolt.
As for reins - he hated those even more.
I went into the Lakeland shop with ds2 on reins. Was out shopping with my mum. I spent most of my time stopping my crazed toddler from pulling everything off the shelves. In the end he threw himself flat on the floor and screamed because I hadn't let him bolt outside into the traffic.
He wouldn't get up. My back was bad and I was having a then undiagnosed fibromyalgia flare up and I couldn't pick him up. So I eased him along the floor so at least he wasn't in everyone's way.
A very posh sounding lady promptly told me off. Apparently I was dragging him along the floor and being very cruel. Wish I'd had the idea to just hand her the reins and tell her to knock herself out.
My mum then came barrelling up saying "That's my grandson, leave them alone!"
In short, all toddlers are arseholes. But they're cute.

Thanks for the solidarity ladies! Have been quietly chuckling to myself at some of these stories and they have all made me feel so much better. I am under no illusion it will happen again but hopefully not until I've recovered from this one a little bit!

I once had to karate chop (gently!) a screaming DS1 to get him into the pushchair, in the middle of Waitrose when I was heavily pregnant with DS2. Staff did try to help to be fair but he was beyond cheering up... Went home without any food and told DH to order take away. You are not a real parent unless you have carried screaming planking child out of a shop x

Empathy
That thing when they won’t bend in the middle, how do they do it with such strength at that size? 🧐🧐

Couldn't get one of mine in the pushchair and he had a tantrum, threw himself onto the floor in the park...right into a pile of dog shit ...so that was a fun afternoon. I think all kids do it - some more than others maybe...and the adults that shoot daggers either have no kids, short memories or have let their partners do the shopping with a toddler.

My secret for car seat/ pushcair wrestling is to use your knee to pin them in place by laying it against their abdomen, obviously not pressing down, then you can strap in the arms and legs. Does get some odd looks but it really works! Toddler restraint should be taught at antenatal classes. When new parents try out prams and car seats it should be with an angry sticky piglet with very stiff legs in a snowsuit.

Flos absolutely true!!

To add to FlosCampi's advice for child trapping - we had car seat and buggy with harnesses that tightened with a strap, so we would wrestle into the item get the harness on and clipped loosely and then wait with our hand on the adjuster strap - until toddler relaxed between planking sessions.

At which point we would pull on the strap and tighten the harness, usually only added about 2 minutes to the toddler wrangling.

It was that or duct tape which my brother is thinking of using on his youngest Houdini daughter.

We now laugh about the time DS1 threw a protest about being in his car seat by removing his clothes without taking of the harness, got some odd looks in traffic, but to be honest he had been a bit of a twat for the majority of that holiday.

At 2.5 yrs my ds was so enranged at my refusal to buy him a paw patrol toy in asda that he somehow flipped his pushchair over forwards into himself.
He then stood up and scuttled off down the aisle with it still strapped to his back, like a demented hermit crab.
I was utterly mortified. Kids are absolute wankers.

@Millie2013

Empathy That thing when they won’t bend in the middle, how do they do it with such strength at that size? 🧐🧐

Regular practice

I used to use the knee trick too.
And use the reins harness to attach houdini to the shopping trolley/ high chair so he couldn't dive out head first. You don't want to hear the noise they make diving out of a Costco trolley on to bare concrete.

DS 2 is was a lithe beastie. He decided that he would toilet train imminently before a camping holiday abroad. We begged to differ for practical reasons. Could we keep a nappy on him? We resorted to gaffer taping it like a belt so it fitted and didn't have the give for escaping.
The holiday before, we made good use of the reins to stop him rocketing off into the nearest swimming pool at any given moment. Reins clearly are not a mainstream item in Turkey, and a local man was pointing at DS2 and the reins withgreat confusing. We replied with the international language,pointing at DS2 and saying "Ussain Bolt". He grinned with understanding. This was the child who took his first steps at the swimming pool on order to gleefully hurl himself in head first.

There are reasons why on the what is the best age of parenting thread, I did not use the word "toddlers".

Mind you, I have recently been known to firemans lift DS1 now 9 back up to his bedroom, which me being 5'2" and him up to shoulder height is no mean feat!

Chuckling at all of these. Our DD goes to nursery very close to my work. We went through a phase of serious trouble with the car seat, which is better now as she can get herself in. Same with the buggy, happy to get in now as long as straps aren't involved. Anyway, a couple of notable instances, once had an appointment near nursery/work. Left car parked at work. Dd kicked off as soon as we left appointment, it took me 45 minutes to drag her what should have been a 10 minute walk. As we neared work of course I started seeing lots of colleagues and to top it all off saw the CEO staring out his office window while I'm trying to drag DD to the car. Same bloke was walking to his car as we are wrestling with the car seat. The shame. Next day I tried to make a joke of it but think I just made it worse.
The second isn't quite as bad but involved the car seat too, took 20 minutes to get her in while all the time being passed by by clients, some looking horrified, some sympathetic and some I'm sure giggling.

@avoidingrealhumans I could have wrote your story myself. My 3 year old son did exactly the same to me in Argos! It was so out of Character for him I was shook for hours afterwards... He took off his shoes and threw them at me while screaming and crying on the floor... Thankfully I have never had a tantrum like that since 🤞

Why are toddlers such idiots

My dgd refused to leave the park so we could pick her db up from school. I had to carry her out screaming surfboard style worst granny in the world award to me please.

my normally quiet and placid youngest had a massive screaming tantrum at her older sister's sports day when she was 3 because they had a race for all the little brothers and sisters which she didn't want to join in with, but didn't want anyone else to run the race either. I went to put her back in her buggy, and she did this bucking movement backwards and tipped the entire thing over backwards (our lightweight summer stroller), which didn't help by one of the parents then turning and saying 'did you just throw her in that buggy, OMG she just threw her toddler in the buggy' to the other nearby parents. I can say that I absolutely did not, and this group of parents were actually standing with their backs to me watching the races. Needless to say, I was livid, but it really upset me at the time, being so stupidly judged - there were plenty of people about but they were either watching the race and didn't see what actually happened, or else they decided to keep out of it and not say anything. She's almost 16 now, and I still feel slightly annoyed if I see that person out and about in our local town knowing that they were a judgemental twat. OP - most kids do this at some point, don't be too hard on yourself!

I work in a shop. I have seen SO MANY tantrumming children, and I always try to smile at the mum and say something like 'we've all been there'. But what amazes me is how many people (and some of them are my colleagues) who tut and say 'thank god that's gone' when the child has left the shop.

I usually give them cat's bum face and say 'were you never a child, then?'

Really irritates me how everyone thinks they and their children were perfect and get annoyed at tantrumming children. FFS!

Literally every parent will have had at least one incident where they carry their dc out of shop under their arm like an angry handbag. People are probably looking in sympathy but I know how it feels to have all eyes on you when it’s happening and feeling so self conscious,

I tried out having a tantrum at my tantrumming daughter. Only once, mind. But it was so satisfying having her stop and look at her nutty mum. Result!

I'm a lone parent and this is my 3 year old every single day. You are definitely not alone and the looks and staring from other people make it feel so much worse. I have constant anxiety about taking her out in the car because I'm on edge waiting for her to kick off about something. Every single time we go in the car she has a tantrum about getting in the car seat and almost every car journey/shopping trip ends with tears (including mine).

Ah this brings back so many happy memories of dd2 😂

She also never. Stopped. Talking.

The knee trick works and also tickling. Tickle their tummy you only need them to stop clenching their muscles for a few seconds 😁

The most embarrassing one was the tantrum in tesco because I spent her money. GRANNY GAVE ME MONEY HAD MONEY NOW I DONT MUMMY YOU TOOK MY MONEY

Yes because we had gone to the toy shop two days before and bought something she wanted. That’s kinda how it works kiddo!

If it consoles at all she’s 15 now and is the nicest funniest most laid back teen possible unlike her perfectly behaved as a toddler older sister who was the teen from hell.

Eldest never had a tantrum so youngest was a lovely surprise. I lost track of the number of times she threw herself on the floor screaming as we walked round the local supermarket. Dh used to take the the eldest and -hide in another isle- carry on with the shopping while I ended up carrying her round the store like a surf board. Never left the store with her just carried on as though everything was normal. By the time she was 3.5 she was over it and has been the most well behaved child and teen imaginable. Her sister saved all her tantruming till her teenage years but that turned out to be linked to sunset yellow. So no more Irn Bru for her.

I often resorted to scooping up my toddler like rugby ball when it all got too much...I wish I still could sometimes but he's 26!