Somewhere between the time when my son was a year and a half and the time he turned two years old, things got really chaotic at our house. My loving, happy child became mobile and vocal, and along with this newfound vocal range came a ton of tantrums. We deal with tantrums for just about everything. There are tantrums during diaper changes, there are tantrums for water, and there are tantrums when it’s time for bed.
The overflow of tantrums I experience daily makes me insecure about taking him out in public. As you might expect, that makes it harder to get things done. Now, I have to be sure all of my plans are scheduled in places where people will understand. This means I’ve had to find a ton of tantrum friendly places in our town to meet up with friends.
If you find yourself cowering in a corner at the idea of taking your kid in public, know you’re not alone. Read below for three tantrum friendly places to bring your child.
In-home playdates
Alright, in-home play dates can be hit or miss. They’re awesome if they’re at your house and your child is in their element. They can be a lot less awesome if you’re at a friend’s house and you’re trying to keep your child from saying mine and taking their toys – as has been my own experience.
Generally, the people we choose to have playdates with are close friends with children of a similar age, so they get it, and tend to be a lot less judgemental about what your kid is doing. That’s not to say that you won’t still be slightly embarrassed when your kid takes the other kid’s dump truck and hit him upside the head with it, but at least the person you’ll be apologizing to is a friend.
Family amusement parks
If a baby screams at the zoo and no one hears it, did they make a sound? Places with designated children’s areas take a ton of stress off parents. Loud places bring us comfort because we are surrounded by a community of parents dealing with similar issues.
There’s so much noise in many amusement parks that the last thing you have to worry about is someone being bothered by your child’s fit over graham crackers. You’re more likely to hear someone angry about teenagers overwhelming everyone with PDA and yuckiness. I’ll take a tantrum over that any day!
The great outdoors
The park is probably one of my favorite tantrum-friendly places. Mostly, this is because the park has more than enough space to run as fast as you can in the opposite direction once a toddler starts crying. If you’re lucky, by the time anyone else notices, you’ll be far, far away – okay, we can’t do that but sometimes it’s nice to imagine we could.
The park is outside, which has a ton of benefits for children’s physical and intellectual development. Wide open spaces are very noise-friendly, and there’s no reason for us to feel uncomfortable or frustrated when our children throw a fit. I enjoy going to the park because I get to take my baby and my dog and we can run around and make all the noise we want. One of them stops when I say so, and the other keeps going. I’ll let you guess which one is which.
Doing things during this stage is hard. Find comfort knowing you’re not alone. There are plenty of places that are listed above that are welcome you and your tantrum-throwing child.
About the author:
Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez is a writer who specializes in sociology, health, and parenting. Her work has appeared in Healthline, Yes! Magazine, HuffPost, Allure, and many other publications. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter or check out her website.
