Tell Me The Truth…..Was I Out Of Line Here??

[Anonymous]

yes you were out of line!

[Anonymous]

OP: Yes,you were out of line.

Ironically, I wonder what your mother did to you to make you so rude.

[Anonymous]

Why would you make this poor mother's day worse????!!!!!

You're so socially and emotionally clueless. Of course you don't say "don't have kids" in front of a child, but this was not for YOU to say, right AT THAT MOMENT, because the mother is so stressed out she's not going to react well!

What an insensitive jerk you are.

Shame on you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday I was shopping in Walmart with my sister.

There was a child in the aisle crying very loudly, begging her mother for a toy.
Typical temper tantrum.
The mother was telling her daughter to go and sit inside the shopping cart and her child would not - she was kicking ➕ screaming NO!
Again extremely loudly.

Everyone (of course!) was watching the chaotic commotion and the mother appeared worn out and stressed to the max.

She turned to all the shoppers in the aisle and remarked to us “Listen people…..this is the reason you do not have kids!”

Now as a mother myself, in all honesty I HAVE thought this to myself when my own children were being difficult.
I think that ALL parents have had this thought at one time or another while raising their kids.

So I am the last person to judge this mother.
However I have never verbalized this in front of my child.

This woman’s child appeared between the age of 4-5.
I told the woman that she shouldn’t have said that in front of her daughter angrily and the woman simply rolled her eyes at me.

Afterward my sister chastised me and told me the woman was simply in the throes of her child’s tantrum and was simply venting out of frustration.

What say you??

Yes, you were out of line. But more importantly, what did you think this would accomplish? You have an overwhelmed mother who you say you aren't judging, but you reprimanded her. The only acceptable thing here is to offer help or commiserate, "I remember the days of shopping with a little one and it is so rough. Hang in there!" Obviously no one should be saying that, but you only made it worse OP.

[Anonymous]

Way to pile on, OP. Next time, perhaps you can keep your thoughts to yourself.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you were wrong.

[Anonymous]

Yta. You could have helped her, or even just ignored it. Instead you chose to berate her, after she’s already clearly going through a difficult time. Does being a POS help you sleep at night or something?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately if the kid didn't notice her mother was out of line, she probably did notice her mother was corrected in public by a random stranger.

In your defense, it's hard to think on your feet. If I would have said anything I might have tried something like, "some days are tough but it's worth it in the long run. Anything I can do to give you a hand?"

I would have been tempted to empathize with the child since that worked well with 95% of my students (matching the kid's facial expression and saying "you're really upset now" "you really want that toy" "mom hears you, but no toys today, sorry,") but I would not count on that working in a Walmart and definitely would not count on the mom wanting that intervention. If a similar situation was happening in my school building I might try it, but not with a random stranger.

[Anonymous]

You were wrong. Jeez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday I was shopping in Walmart with my sister.

There was a child in the aisle crying very loudly, begging her mother for a toy.
Typical temper tantrum.
The mother was telling her daughter to go and sit inside the shopping cart and her child would not - she was kicking ➕ screaming NO!
Again extremely loudly.

Everyone (of course!) was watching the chaotic commotion and the mother appeared worn out and stressed to the max.

She turned to all the shoppers in the aisle and remarked to us “Listen people…..this is the reason you do not have kids!”

Now as a mother myself, in all honesty I HAVE thought this to myself when my own children were being difficult.
I think that ALL parents have had this thought at one time or another while raising their kids.

So I am the last person to judge this mother.
However I have never verbalized this in front of my child.

This woman’s child appeared between the age of 4-5.
I told the woman that she shouldn’t have said that in front of her daughter angrily and the woman simply rolled her eyes at me.

Afterward my sister chastised me and told me the woman was simply in the throes of her child’s tantrum and was simply venting out of frustration.

What say you??

Never take your children shopping. Pay a sitter or don't go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday I was shopping in Walmart with my sister.

There was a child in the aisle crying very loudly, begging her mother for a toy.
Typical temper tantrum.
The mother was telling her daughter to go and sit inside the shopping cart and her child would not - she was kicking ➕ screaming NO!
Again extremely loudly.

Everyone (of course!) was watching the chaotic commotion and the mother appeared worn out and stressed to the max.

She turned to all the shoppers in the aisle and remarked to us “Listen people…..this is the reason you do not have kids!”

Now as a mother myself, in all honesty I HAVE thought this to myself when my own children were being difficult.
I think that ALL parents have had this thought at one time or another while raising their kids.

So I am the last person to judge this mother.
However I have never verbalized this in front of my child.

This woman’s child appeared between the age of 4-5.
I told the woman that she shouldn’t have said that in front of her daughter angrily and the woman simply rolled her eyes at me.

Afterward my sister chastised me and told me the woman was simply in the throes of her child’s tantrum and was simply venting out of frustration.

What say you??

If you can't say something useful then just shut up.l

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why people stand around and watch a toddler having a temper tantrum. Why were you just standing there watching? That's so weird.

I don't know why people go shopping with children. I only took my children shopping when I was clothes shopping for them. If necessary, I hired a babysitter or shopped when they were in school. When I went back to work, I went out early on Saturday Morning and grocery shopped.

Only a fool thinks taking a child to a store that has toys on display isn't an invitation for a tantrum.

[Anonymous]

OP Here:

Thank you everyone for your responses!

I have learned a lot from this experience & will behave better in public from now on!

I wish I could apologize to this poor woman for what I said.

[Anonymous]

Yes and the fact you have to ask us is even more alarming. You seem to lack self-awareness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know why people stand around and watch a toddler having a temper tantrum. Why were you just standing there watching? That's so weird.

I don't know why people go shopping with children. I only took my children shopping when I was clothes shopping for them. If necessary, I hired a babysitter or shopped when they were in school. When I went back to work, I went out early on Saturday Morning and grocery shopped.

Only a fool thinks taking a child to a store that has toys on display isn't an invitation for a tantrum.

This is so very true. Of course any child that goes into a store that sells toys is going to cry when they see toys displayed. Of course the child will want the toys they see. It is human nature. I would never shop at Walmart or Target with a child just for this reason. I would only take my child shopping with me in a clothes only store or even appliance.

I think this store mama was the one out of line. A child at four years old is going to be traumatized for hearing her mama say in a nutshell that she wishes she never had her. That she regrets that she was even born.

I cannot even imagine what the mother says to her behind closed doors.
CPS should be involved.