dd has just engineered the worst supermarket trip of my life and I need to let off steam. As a "treat" (each to their own I guess) I let her have some tinned tweenies pasta. however on Fridays she usually has a packed lunch - her big sister has one so she likes having one too in her Dora bag and off she pops to find a corner of the house in which to picnic. I pointed out that this little routine wouldn't be possible with Tweenies pasta and she would have to eat in the kitchen. big scream and stamping of feet. I told her - calmly and clearly - that if she screamed again the pasta was going back on the shelf, she screamed. pasta went back on the shelf. total strop - full on throwing herself on the floor, screaming, and geting the pasta back off the shelf. For some reason I was in the right mood and really did not get at all riled, in fact I even allowed myself a small laugh when she was sprawled across the aisle. I told her that if she didn;t put the pasta back by the time I'd counted to 3 the jelly was going back as well. she put the pasta back (but continued screaming and protesting).
I then decided that it would be best to go home. told her that if she didn't come before I counted the jelly would go back. she came, but still screaming. I walked through the supermarket past all the check outs with her following me, me cool as a cucumber and in control and her still protesting (but following). Lots of sympathetic looks and - if I say it myself -I think quite a few admiring how-come-she-hasn't-lost-it looks. Until I came to Old Bag. The filthiest snottiest most disapproving look you could imagine. It tipped me over the edge and my cool cracked and I found myself saying "Staring doesn;t help you know". so she started muttering something about it (not sure what) not being very nice and that I should try to do something. I then proceeded to make a tit of myself by saying taht I was "behaving" ("behaving"? wtf was I thinking of) as best I could. The kind of nice ending is that dd had calmed down before I'd paid. Old Bag walked past us and I was able to say "you see, my method worked, she's fine now" but Old Bag probably thought I was laying the ground for repeat performances by "not doing anything". I was so close to tears over the whole thing. And then in the car I thought about the people here with kids with sn of various sorts and wondered how on earth they manage. and at that point a couple of tears. and now I feel wonderfully relieved having spouted it all here. If anyone makes it this far.