Have you as a parent, ever felt embarrassed or frustrated by your child’s behavior in a store?  Your child wants you to buy something that’s not on your list and all your parenting skills are challenged by your child’s whining, screaming or temper tantrums?  Perhaps during these times, you felt anything but successful and confident as a parent.

It’s difficult to know how to be a successful parent with today’s children.  I remember my son putting me through such an experience when he was four years old.  I wanted to crawl inside of my coat and disappear form all the eyes watching us in the store as he fell on the floor in a rage, screaming and kicking because I wouldn’t buy him a candy bar.

Somehow, I knew then there were very high stakes involved in terms of how I handled this situation.  ...   more »