Tesco naughty step!
Strict mum employs Supernanny technique in busy supermarket as daughters play up
WITH three children to look after, Louise Palai is quick to step in when a firm hand is required – even if it is in the middle of a busy supermarket.
So when six-year-old Alisa and seven-year-old Ebony began playing up during a trip to Tesco after school last week, she put a stop to the bad behaviour just as she would at home.
Avon lady Miss Palai ordered the girls to sit in silence in the fruit and vegetable aisle for ten minutes after they almost ran into another shopper’s trolley. A snap of the pair sat cross-legged and facing the shelves went viral after a friend posted it in praise of Miss Palai’s actions – triggering a debate over whether the 35-year-old may have overstepped the mark herself.
Yesterday the strict mother said she has received hundreds of messages of support from other parents – as well as criticism for using the ‘naughty step’ technique made famous in TV show Supernanny – in a supermarket.
Miss Palai, a single mother, said: ‘I have a responsibility to make sure my children are healthy and respectful and that’s why I have a very nononsense approach to parenting. It annoys me when you see youngsters running around and causing a nuisance to people, I want my kids to know the difference between what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour when they are in public.
‘I would encourage other parents to do the same thing. No matter where you go, even if there isn’t a step to sit on, there is always the floor!’
Miss Palai swung into action at her local store in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, last week when the girls ignored requests to calm down and stop running around the store.
She said she took their picture to ‘remind them what happens if they mess about in public’. A fellow shopper nodded his approval as he watched her calmly talk to
‘A bit of tough love is good’
the girls before guiding them to a quiet area of the store to sit down, she added.
Miss Palai said she has also used the tactic on her eldest daughter, Courtney Jane, who is now 14 – most recently when she was 12, and added: ‘After they had calmed down, I explained to them why I made them sit down, I always explain why they are being punished. They both understood and said sorry and then gave me a hug – so they learned their lesson and we carried on shopping.’
The photograph of the girls in their school uniform has so far been shared by more than 10,000 people worldwide. Eliz- abeth O’Shea, of the Parent4success parenting website, said: ‘This is very good parenting. Most people would rather see a child asked to sit down and quieten down by a parent who is remaining calm and not shouting or smacking them.’
But parenting coach Sue Atkins said the naughty step is usually deployed against younger children or toddlers, and said that ‘by the time children are ... six or seven they are usually able to selfregulate their behaviour’.
She encourages parents to ‘do the opposite’ of Miss Palai, and use positive psychology to reinforce good behaviour, adding: ‘Children are either motivated towards something like an extra sticker, bedtime story or having a friend around to play.
‘Or they can be motivated away from something so for instance you could take a teenager’s phone away for a period of time to motivate them into modifying their behaviour. This mother should by now be noticing the triggers (of bad behaviour) and start working towards pre-empting those triggers before situations develop.
‘I’m not in favour of shaming a child as it damages their self-esteem.’
Miss Palai said she also disciplined her children by taking away electronic devices.
She said that when the family returned to Tesco on Sunday, Alisa and Ebony ‘both behaved really well’.
Miss Palai added: ‘A little bit of tough love is good. I want my kids to behave in public and grow up to be respectful adults.’
The ‘naughty step’ technique was pioneered by ‘Supernanny’ Jo Frost to deal with unruly children aged between two and six, and was demonstrated in her Channel 4 series of the same name.
The 46-year-old former nanny, from South West London, took the show to America, where she is now married and living in Orange County.