Dad’s viral hack to stop toddler tantrums at the grocery store

“One day my husband said, ‘Let her drive’ and we never looked back,” the mum reveals in a video.

Toddler tantrums are the enemy of efficient shopping.

You think you’re organised – you’ve done your meal plan, you’ve got your list, it’s all within budget – and then your two-year-old chucks a fit in the seat of the trolley.

Suddenly your mind goes blank.

You just need to get food, any food, into your trolley, pay and get out of there before the tantrum goes nuclear.

Using the fully length of your arm, you sweep enough tins of beans into the basket to last for the rest of the year and sprint for the self-checkout.

You pay and you’re outside, just as she lets out a piercing screech. Crisis averted, but what will you do with so many tins of beans and no other food?

Mum Aly, who posts to TikTok as @allthingsaly, has shared her husband’s hack to completely head off the tantrum, and it’s so simple, it’s genius: let the kid drive.

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Letting the toddler drive is the dad's solution to toddler tantrums at the shops. Photo: TikTok

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Dad’s hack to stop toddler tantrums

“One day my husband said let her ‘drive’ and it’s a genius parenting hack, not gonna lie,” she captioned the video.

In the clip, Aly’s toddler is sitting quietly in the trolley seat, facing away from the camera.

The trolley is being pushed from the back, so the toddler is facing out as she moves around the grocery store.

I distinctly remember that when my kids were little and in boring situations, it was much better if they couldn’t see me.

If they could see me, that’s when the whining started.

Aly’s baby can’t see Aly, all she can see is the bounty of Aldi in front of her. She probably feels like she’s in control. It probably doesn’t even occur to her to have a tantrum. Pretty smart.

RELATED: To the shoppers who judged me for my toddler’s tantrum

Dad’s grocery hack goes viral

The video went viral with 680,000 views and over 50,000 likes.

“Going to have to give this a try, great idea,” one person said.

“Oh s**t. Genius,” said another.

“OMG ima try this with my almost two-year-old,” said a third person. “She always wants to come out 20 minutes into shopping.”

But not everyone liked the hack.

“My anxiety could never,” said one person. 1. She climbs. 2. Someone could snatch her right up. Love the idea though.

Originally published as Dad’s viral hack to stop toddler tantrums at the grocery store