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Mon 14 Mar, 2005 11:57 am
I’m at the grocery store with my two little girls (6 and 2). I am pushing them around in one of those car grocery carts where they can pretend to drive. And as siblings do they start pushing each other vying for some extra space. Since my two year old is not as big she sometimes resorts to biting to get her way. Next thing I hear, is a little screech she’s biting! I tell my two year old if she does it again she will have to sit up front (for those not familiar with these carts, they also have a seat where you push like other carts). Of course she proceeds to try and bite her sister. So the inevitable happens I have to take her out and put her up front.
She frantically tries to get out of it. “I’m sorry, mommy. I be a good girl now.” Of course I say it is too late. And of course, being two, she lets out a very loud cry. Knowing my daughter, I realize this will last all of three minutes until she is distracted with something else. Well some old bag yells out, “Shut up!” I proceed to confront her and trip the old bag and then say, “You shut up!” Then security comes running up and all h*ll breaks loose.
Actually I didn’t trip her. I was so busy trying to distract my child, that it didn’t connect her – shut up – with my child until a man across the aisle said, “Did you hear her say that?” He of course was on my side of things.
The funny thing was that my six year old was more angry about it than me. She wanted to beat the old bag up. Guess she forgot all about the biting.
Well, grouchy people suck!
This is one of my pet peeves. I can't tell you how many grocery store confrontations I've had -- all related to my children and people's perceptions of how I should care for them.
Re: Grouchy People Suck
Linkat wrote: Well some old bag yells out, "Shut up!" I proceed to confront her and trip the old bag and then say, "You shut up!" Then security comes running up and all h*ll breaks loose.
Actually I didn't trip her.
I often wonder how many overheard comments I've been spared. Have gotten daggers shot at me though (which I shoot right back.)
I mean I kind of understand it in a fancy restaurant or other reasonably kid-free zone. But a grocery store?
Exactly!
I also get the safety police who think that walking 4 paces away from a grocery cart with a baby in it constitutes abandonment.
Exactly – in a grocery store. And believe me this is a kid-friendly grocery store. And like a said she screamed for no more than 3 minutes. The guy that actually mentioned it to me said, I guess she has never had kids. I think most people are reasonable and realize it. I have gotten many sympathetic smiles during kid meltdowns before and reassuring comments from others. As I have done to other parents. It is just those grumpy people that are probably unhappy with the entire world. Perhaps if they have had some children in their life, they may have had the opportunity to be happy.
FreeDuck – I cannot stand anyone reprimanded another parent about how they should take care of their children. Usually these sorts of comments come from people that do not even have any children – like they could even understand. Also, the parent is the one that should know best how to handle their child. For example, I knew it would be less headache and noise if I moved my daughter to the front of cart and allowed her to bellow for 3 minutes than to leave the two together to continue fighting.
Absolutely -- and I would have done exactly the same thing in that case (that situation is a familiar one).
I used to get a lot more busy-body advice when it was just me and my son and he was a baby. Apparently I looked very young then and more than one person made the assumption that I was a very young single mother who didn't know jack ****. I'm no longer surprised by it and often, like soz, shoot them daggers if they even look at me wrong.
people REALLY do this?
I cant IMAGINE someone telling my child to be quiet.
I cant IMAGINE telling someone elses child to shut up
I cant IMAGINE half of this ever going on....
this is amazing. This pisses me off.... and I have not even been there!
How dare someone tell a CHILD to shut up. Let alone try to repremand a parent on how they parent thier child.
Wow... amazing.
I guess I am going to be an uber-bitch. I would never stand for that behavior either .
Good going Link! !
Lol - I call them "The Supermarket Mafia".
It seems they are ubiquitous.
It is why I make it a practice to smile supportively at parents when they are engaged in assisting their kids with their behaviour in public places.
I think I've seen you in the grocery store, bunny. :wink: You are a welcome sight.
I'm hard to miss.....there are not so many smiling 5' 6" smoking white Rabbits...
Actually what I wanted to really do is follow that old bag around the grocery store and encourage both my children to yell their bloody heads off. Unfortunately I felt it better for my children that they see me acting like an adult and just taking that sort of stuff in stride. I actually explained to my older daughter later on, as she wanted to “beat her up” was that the lady was probably very unhappy and probably just grouchy because of it. And that even adults can sometimes act badly.
It is just a bit ridiculous to yell shut up to a two year old. If anything that will only cause more screaming.
The Supermarket Mafia – I love it! If they hate children and I would assume anyone making noise, they should just stay in their homes and have the supermarket deliver to them. Then they don’t have to deal with such unruly behavior.
Ah - but often they are vociferous in their criticisms of the parent - not the child.
Critical if parents are NOT disciplining - and critical if they are.
It is a no-win with the Supermarket Mafiosi!
We should get some parent group together to fight the supermarket Mafia. Whenever one of those busybodies decides to say something, we all jump and kick the crap out of them and ceremoniously dump their sorry a** out of the grocery store.
That would be an interesting behavioural example for the li'l ones!
Oh, dlowan, you ruin my fun. Now how can I set these losers straight, while being a good example to my children?
Maybe we could have some sort of spy ring, where one of the parent group, follows these grumps, finds out where they live, etc. and without the children viewing, we can then find some suitable way of torturing them.
Hmmmm - I have coached clients in some pretty funny confrontation techniques - but I cannot remember them!!!
I have a novel way of dealing with the old bags like the one that yelled at you, Linkat. I simply pull out my double-barrelled twelve guage shotgun and fire a couple shots over their heads. The last time I did that the lady's curlers melted to her silver hair.
I'd have thought you'd sic the gibbons on 'em.
I hate it when kids cry in public. Instead of yelling "shut up" at them, I just steal them when their parents leave them in their carriage four feet away while looking at the pea specials in aisle 3.
That is stupid though. If I heard someone say that to a little kid, it would fun telling them(grouchy adult) to shut the f%%k up. These opportunities don't come up very often, otherwise I'd probably get myself in trouble.
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