No. You remove your child from the scene (because children are often reacting to overstimulation such as the grocery store is too loud, the room is too bright, there’s people they don’t know around, they’ve been there too long etc) and go somewhere quiet. You then sit with them as they cry, reassuring them that you are present, and once they have stopped crying you offer comfort and ask if they know what it is that they were so upset about. Then you calmly talk to them so they - and you - can understand and fix the problem that was the root of the tantrum.

Bad example;‘Why are you crying?’‘I’m hungry’‘Well we’re going home soon!’

Good example;‘Do you know why you were crying?’‘I’m hungry’ ‘We’re at the grocery store to get food. We only have three more aisles to go. We can count them down together. Then we’ll go home and we can eat.’

Children don’t understand ‘soon’; even for adults, ‘soon’ is a relative term. children understand things like ‘three aisles. Two. One. Now we’re going home!’

Children need communication, understanding and teaching. Not beating, intimidating or belittling.