How do you keep your kids from - wanting everything at the store?

mckayleesmom wrote: I read Mckaylee a book with the Berenstein(?) Bears and the Bad Case Of the Gimmie Gimmies.....Or something like that. Its about Brother and Sister wanting everything when they go to the store and throwing fits when they didn't get it. The parents finally tell them that they are only allowed to pick one treat.

Now when I take McKaylee to the store with me...she is told that she is only allowed to pick 1 treat and 1 treat only....That she can't get the Gimmie Gimmie's. Then I remind her of what happened in the book. So far it is doing really good. She usually picks something out and I tell her to hold on to it BUT DO NOT OPEN IT in case you change your mind before we leave and you want something else. She usually switches 3 or 4 times before we leave.


Other times I tell her ahead of time that it is not a treat day and we don't get everything we want all the time....She usually says ok and alot of times she does ok, but she has her moments sometimes. I usually just avoid the tempting isles.

JP&KJMOM replied: I don't! J/K I usually tell them before we leave they get one treat at checkout. They don't argue most, MOST of the time.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: We never started the "treat at the store" thing in the first place... so when we go to a store, they don't usually get a treat - and are really happy when they do get a surprise. It only took once for them to cry about not getting something... now they sit nicely in the cart, and that's that. They don't get all that they want, and to drive the point home, sometimes we say no for absolutely no reason. And sometimes we give them a treat without telling them first... we do it randomly - and they don't whine and complain in stores.

Kirstenmumof3 replied: We let them pick one treat (something cheap like chips or chocolate bar) and if they misbehave they don't get the treat. That's when we go grocery shopping. When we go to the mall, they have an allowance and know that we won't buy them anything. Even Claudia has an allowance, she gets $5.00.

CantWait replied:


It's only once in awhile that the kids get a treat while we're out. I just don't have the money to continuously give them something everytime we leave the house, not to mention I don't want them to expect it.

gr33n3y3z replied:
we did the samething with our kids
I think it worked out pretty good

Maddie&EthansMom replied:
Same here.

redplaydoh replied:
So what happened when they DID cry???

luvmykids replied: I tell them ahead of time, we are only getting what is on our list and that if they see something they want we'll write it down so we can remember it for one of the times that they do get something.

C&K*s Mommie replied: The girls are really good about not wanting everything they see. From the time they were young- until now, & until they learn what it means we have told them that "that is not ours". They understand that they cannot have everything they see. And they are content, and do not make a fuss over it.

We often reward them with little things, like yesterday at Walmart we got them some more dollar dvd's, and a case to hold them in. Gumball machines toys or balls are the thing they most often get. But if they do not get it, then they are fine too with or without it. Sometimes I just tell them the truth that I do not have any change on me, and they understand that no change= no gumball machines.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
They cried, threw their little fit - some people were looking at me with the "shut your kid up!" look... but oh well... one woman congratulated us on not giving in to our child's tantrum, they won't learn any other way.

Besides... if you give in to thjeir tantrums, the next ones will only get louder anmd bigger until you give in again - because since you gave in that first time, they know you have a breaking point - and will; do everything they can to get there again.

sorry for the typos... i'm t-1-h and too lazy to fix em.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Ditto! I think it's important to teach them not to expect it, or else that is what happens, they expect it, and it only "creates a monster", for lack of a better term.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Let them cry. Like Zen Mommy said, they wont learn anything by giving into their tantrums. I don't know about others, but when my son throws tantrums, I get more stubborn and it only makes me want to prove my point more. I don't want him turning into a spoiled child, therefore, treats for naughty behavior and tantrums are never given.

AlexsPajamaMama replied: Alex's favorite special treat at the grocery store is fruit!! A bag of grapes, bananas or an apple Or a ride at walmart when we are all done....and he knows he has to be good and sit nicely in the cart the whole time or he doesnt get a treat.

On grocery day he spends the morning at Nanas while I shop, and I always ask him what kind of special snack do you want me to get and he always says some kind of fruit!

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Right on mom!!!

Kaitlin'smom replied: she sometimes will ask for something before we go, if its something little or cheap she will ask to take some of her money. She does not always ask for things and sometimes i suprse her for being good with a treat but not everytime. She will occasional see soemthing (most time it a pillow, dunno why but she LOVES different pillows) and ask if I am really good can I have it? In one store she just wanted to hold the pillow till we left. Its kinda strange. I also love to see her get so excited over things when she least expects it and she sure does thank me ALOT. Like today I was buying new lipgloss for me and just happend to see some lip balm stuff kinda like chapstic. It was pink and cotton candy flavor. I bought it for her, she was not with me and when I gave it to her she was soooo excited and very thankful. I was so proud that she was thankful.

CantWait replied:
Great thing to teach em!!!!!!!

My3LilMonkeys replied: Brooke usually gets to help pick things out at the grocery store (do we want apples or grapes? graham crackers or cheezits? type thing) but other than that they rarely get treats. Occasionally DH will try to win them a stuffed toy in the skill crane or once in a while they will get a toy.

AlexsPajamaMama replied:
My DH likes to do that too