Was I out of line at the grocery store with a shrieking toddler?
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Anonymous
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Yesterday late afternoon I went to the grocery store and almost immediately heard a child letting out loud, ear-piercing shrieks, the kind that reverberate through the aisles and make people wince. Every time it happened, I noticed other shoppers grimacing or exchanging uncomfortable looks.
This went on throughout my trip. Eventually, I ended up in the same aisle as the child, a little girl, maybe 2 or 2.5 years old, and her mom. What surprised me most was that the mom was laughing and clearly encouraging the shrieking, not trying to redirect or stop it. I was frustrated, not just by the noise, but by what felt like a complete disregard for others in the store. I walked up to their cart, looked at the child, covered my ears, and said “Ouch! Your shouting is really hurting my ears!” The little girl immediately burst into tears. The mom called me an expletive and told me I was rude. For the record, the shrieking stopped after that. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I didn’t yell or scold, I tried to speak calmly but honestly. Still, I’m wondering, was I out of line? Should I have just ignored it? How do others handle this kind of situation? |
Anonymous
| I love that you did that. Expletive that mom. |
Anonymous
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If a young child is with an adult in public you address the adult, not the toddler.
You weren’t wrong to say something but out of line to say it to the child. |
Anonymous
| You sound crazy OP to yell at a toddler. |
Anonymous
She didn't yell. And what she said is perfectly acceptable. |
Anonymous
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I hate hate hate kids who scream. If they are in the habit of screaming, we won't know when they are in real trouble.
And this is everywhere- even at playgrounds where it's maybe ok to scream (but see the above-- if screaming is your norm, you are SOL when you need help). Something for parents of screaming kids to think about. Team OP. |
Anonymous
Address the mom actively encouraging her child to be disruptive? That’s laughable. |
Anonymous
| While in theory you were not wrong, I would not interfere with a child whose parent is present and not harming the child. |
Anonymous
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You never know what's going on with other families. Maybe this child has special needs. Maybe the mother is horrible. Maybe the kid is a jerk. Maybe the mom is overwhelmed.
I try to ignore most bad behavior in public, especially by toddlers. So no, I would not have said anything. You did, the mom bristled, oh well. It seems like you thought the mom would stop and thank you, which was short sighted at best. |
Anonymous
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I would have been irritated too, OP, but I would never correct a child who was with her fully engaged and aware parent.
Playing devils advocate, maybe this girl just had a cochlear implant this morning and this is the first time she can hear her voice!! That’s probably not the case obviously but it does maybe help remind you that it’s really none of your business and next time, address the mom politely instead of the girl politely. |
Anonymous
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weirdo
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Anonymous
| You posted this why? |
Anonymous
| These are the situations where I love if I’m shopping with my own kids because they (6 and 9) would both clap their hands over their ears and complain to me about the noise, in direct earshot of the toddler, because my own children lack social graces which is normally a source of frustration for me but in this case it would have been perfect |
Anonymous
She indicated that she yelled: 1. OP used exclamation points 2. Toddler heard OP over her shreiks 3. OP's loud voice caused toddler to cry |
Anonymous
| I was fully ready to let you have it after I read the title, but then I read the rest of your post and see nothing wrong with what you did. This mom clearly is selfish and thinks her child is entitled to disturb everyone. If you had addressed her directly, she would have still called you an expletive. Good for you. |