Ways to control your kids when guests are around this festive season

Every parent knows how hard it is to get your kids to behave when guests are around. They are excited, hyper and almost uncontrollable.

The last thing you would want is for them to throw tantrums in front of everyone or yell uncontrollably when everyone is engaged.

Well, kids will be kids but there’s always a way of teaching them how to carry themselves when you’re visiting others or having a party at your place.

Failure to do so, your family will become isolated and left out of family gatherings and social events because no one wants to deal with your little monsters.

Cute as they maybe, children can drive even the sanest of us up a wall.

Thank goodness those days of being embarrassed by how your children behave can soon be a thing of the past but only if you choose to make the necessary steps and adjustments. Here is how you can make that happen:

Nurture a culture of discipline

Doing the work early is one of the best ways to ensure your kids behave well. If you let them do what they want every other day, you can’t expect them to change all of a sudden when you have guests around.

Teach them early how to be polite, how to behave during meal times and how to communicate without throwing tantrums or screaming.

By the time you’re going anywhere with them or just inviting people over for dinner, they will understand what they should and shouldn’t do.

Prepare fun activities

Boredom will be one of your biggest problems in this case. Once kids have nothing to keep them occupied, the attention seeking habits will come up.

As you prepare for guests, think of ways you can keep them entertained like organizing a play area with interesting toys where they can play with other kids as you and your guests peacefully chat.

If it’s safe, you can even let the kids play outside especially since they usually have so much energy. On that particular day you can opt to hire a nanny or request a relative to watch over them as they run around the neighborhood.

Remind them of expectations

Before guests arrive, even the best-behaved kids need to be reminded what your expectations are as far as discipline is concerned. You might have done your best to teach them basic values but kids tend to forget easily.

On the D-day, let them know what your expectations are so that you won’t experience some embarrassing scenarios.

Some things you can hammer into their little brains is how to be courteous to visitors and table manners.

Get some support

There are times when you have to go the extra mile of hiring someone who can help you. It can get very overwhelming if you attempt to handle everything by yourself especially when you need to give your guests undivided attention.

Hire a babysitter who can get your kids to behave and at the same time handle their needs while you are temporarily unavailable.

Don’t drive yourself crazy by trying to be a super mom when you can get someone to help you.

Don’t scold them in front of guests

Sometimes you might be forced to deal with unforeseen circumstances. It happens.

You can try to do everything right and prepare your kids early but things don’t always go according to your expectations.

If your child does something wrong, don’t scream at them in front of everyone. Pull them aside and let them know you’re not happy with something they have done.

This will help them understand the consequences of their actions instead of triggering rebellion and resentment.