Child runs away

I have a 20 month old daughter who thinks it is fun to run away from
Mom when we are outside. She thinks it is fun, becuase my husband and
i will catch her. yesterday we were grocery shopping without my

0tterbot...

exactly. it's a fun game that you, by default, allow and participate in. but
prevention is better than cure!

yesterday we were grocery shopping without my

Nikki...

In addition to what others have suggested you might work on not making it
such a game. For the next few weeks try to go to a place that is some what
safe and when she runs, just keep on doing what you were doing. If she gets
a few experiences of running off and no ones chasing or trying to catch her
it won't be so rewarding. That worked fairly well with my boys but then we
live in an area where I could do that (not chase them) fairly frequently.

Any ideas to help

husband. I put her down to put the groceries in the car (there was

Nan...

My biggest pet peeve is having carts left out in a parking lot. I
park close to a corral as often as possible. Even when I can't, the
few seconds it takes to return it isn't an issue for me. If it is, I
kept dd in the cart, returned the cart, then carried her back to the

PattyMomVA...

This seemed very easy for me. I'd leave the child belted into the cart
while I put the groceries in the car and the cart back where it's supposed
to go. Then I'd take the child out and carry or walk the child back to the
car.

BTW, if I wasn't using a cart (maybe because I only had one bag), it would
be my choice to put the groceries down while I put the child in the car and
not the other way around as the OP suggested she did.

-Patty, mom of 1+2

car. I have a rule against letting my 2 yo walk in a parking lot,
even if she holds my hand. I'm too nervous about her wrenching
herself out of my grasp and taking off.

only one bag) and she started to run into the parking lot. I tried to

0tterbot...

just to add to what others have said, which is that you must prevent the
problem outright, this bit goes BOING!!!! at me:

I tried to

bizby40...

When my kids were that age, I stopped trying to find a place near the
door, and started looking for one near the cart return instead. It
was generally possible to get one very close if I was looking for it.

tell her to not run away, but she doesn't listen. Any ideas to help

0tterbot...

.... i do hope you would never _literally_ say anything like "don't run
away", would you? with tiny kids (and indeed big ones) _always_ use positive
language for direction, tell them what to DO, & don't even mention what not
to do. to tell them what not to do is confusing, and (horribly) gives them
ideas they may not have thought of already.
"sit tight in your seat, we won't be long"
"stay right here with me"
"please hold {this object} for me while i put this away..."
..and so on. it tells them what to do (so you can praise/thank afterwards),
and will keep them amused and onside.
kylie

Any ideas to help

get her to listen to me?

Cathy Weeks...

Nope. 20 month olds have a mind of their own, but no wisdom as to when
to use it! We had (still have - she's now 4.5 years old. I *do* trust
her to stay close now, though) a strict rule about holding hands in
parking lots. And what I did, because I didn't trust her for an instant
to actually do what I said, and stay close, I just did one of two
things - left her in the cart until the groceries were unloaded, or put
her in her car seat, (if it was really hot, I left her car door open,
or even started the car and opened all the windows and/or started the
AC), THEN unloaded the groceries. Sometimes, I let her climb around
unrestrained inside the car while unloading the groceries, but I kept
an eye on her while doing it.

Hope this helps.

Cathy Weeks

Nikki...

She mostly needs to get older ;-) You can also try to tell her to 'Stay
right by the bumper.' or "help mom by loading these groceries" and then hand
her some cans to put in the floor board.

Other then that I almost always put my kids in the car before unloading.

Marie...

A better alternative is to buckle her in her carseat before putting away the
groceries.

Gorgon Park...

I agree with the other posters that it is all about prevention.

The one suggestion that I haven't seen here is to use car service at
the grocery store. I take my daughter with me (she will be three in a
couple of months), but I always ask for a hand out to my car. My
daughter now will remind me "Ask for the big man, mommy" when we get to
the till (somewhat embarrassing, but whatever!).

It makes my life so much easier!

Nan...

At 20 months, this is a very common "game" they like to play. At this
stage, it's best to just take preventative measures like keeping her
in the cart, putting her in the carseat while you unload groceries, or
use a harness.

My 28 month old will run every chance she gets.

betrtimes...

I would run too if you were my mom LOL

Penny Gaines...

To get her to listen to you, you have to be consistent in following
through when you tell her to stay/come - and that is a case of you have
to make her physically stay or come.

If I had had a toddler who was am escape artist, I would have used
toddler reins.