In a bizarre turn of events, a New York attorney sued a court-appointed Psychiatrist for declaring him unfit for taking care of his son in a custody battle. The reason – he refused to take the boy to McDonald’s for dinner!
As the story goes, Attorney David Schorr gets to spend Tuesday evenings with his 4-year-old son. On a particular Tuesday, his son expressed a desire to dine at McDonald’s. David thought that fast food would be inappropriate for a kid of that age and instead offered to take him to their usual restaurant, the Corner Café on Third Avenue. It is a place that serves wholesome meals.
However, the kid, like any other 4-year-old child, wanted to go to the fast food chain. Both were not ready to back off. In the end, the father, scared of rewarding bad behaviour, gave the son an ultimatum: the Corner Café or no dinner at all. The stubborn kid chose to go without dinner.
The mother was livid when she came to understand that her son was starving, and immediately took him for a meal at McDonald’s. She called the Psychiatrist, who later interviewed the son and the mother before reaching this conclusion that the father was ‘wholly incapable of taking care of the son’.
But the dad was not happy with the conclusion. He insists that his side of the story was not heard. He was caught in a conundrum: to reward the bad behaviour or to ensure that the child was fed. However, he confesses that he should have just fed the child. Now, the couple was in a custody battle because of his mistake.
How to deal with your kid’s tantrums? Read on to know more.
How do you tackle your child’s tantrums?
The parenting styles differ in the USA and in Asia. Admonishing is fairly common here. However, children, being children, are known to throw tantrums without provocation. If you are caught in a situation where your kid throws a tantrum and you have to tackle that, do remember to do these things.
- Is the child hungry? Most often, kids throw a tantrum when they are either hungry or tired. Always carry some snacks with you: cranberries, almonds and walnuts, and as a last resort, some chocolate. An intake of a good snack can just end the tantrum. If they are tired, try and soothe them.
- Negotiate. It is not a very bright idea to just give the kid two options. If you add a third one, chances are high that they will take it. So the dad could have given a third, relatively healthy option instead of trying to test the willpower of a 4-year-old.
- Don’t be embarrassed by your kid’s tantrums. All the kids throw tantrums. Well, if you are in the presence of your boss, you may have to make an excuse for your kid’s behaviour, but it makes no sense in spending time apologising for your kid’s unruly behaviour unless they hurt someone. Instead, try talking them out of the tantrum. Don’t reward their tantrum by caving in. Instead, provide them with an alternative option.
- Reserve a ‘look’ for bad behaviour. One or both of the parents should work on a ‘look’. It may sound ridiculous, but children do care if you are upset or disappointed in them. Treat them as you would treat an adult: praise in public but admonish in private. However, they should know when you are upset and the ‘look’ ends up being a good medium to communicate it.
Mums and dads, your kid’s tantrums should not stop your life, though, always caving in is a formula for disaster.
Source: NewYork Post.
Also read: Why I am NOT going to apologise for my infant’s crying
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