I am a first time father and I have a really well behaved 2 year old boy. He has recently started doing the meltdown thing in stores.

Example: In the grocery store he wants to walk without holding my hand. Of course at home in the yard that is fine but, in the grocery store that is not fine. This is followed by crying and sometimes even a little angry “no!”

Sometimes good planning is enough to avoid it.
Sometimes I can talk him down.
Sometimes I can’t.

What I guess I am asking is not how to avoid the meltdown (although that would be great) but, How do you deal with the meltdown once it arrives?