Your son was breaking all the cookies on the counter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you remind me of a woman I ran into at the post office a few years ago. I had a 4 year old, 2 year old and infant at home and ran in to mail some packages. I was exhausted and apparently I was sighing. You know, deep breath in and then let it our with a sigh. I wasn't aware of it. The woman in front of me on line turned around and said something like " you are being very loud" in a very nasty tone. My breathing bothered her so much she had to comment on it. I said nothing and got nice and quiet for her. I have always thought of that woman as a total wretch. Do you realize you come off this way? Even your husband was embarrassed.

Cookie destroyer is a bad child. CCookie destroyer mom was a less than stellar mom. What are you?

No, wrong analogy. I agree that the woman in the post office was totally inappropriate to you, but if your kids were ripping up boxes for purchase (or whatever the cookie equivalent is in a post office), and you weren't doing anything to stop it, then I think that someone would have been absolutely in her right to tell you that your kids were destroying property.

OP could have been nicer about it, yes, but I think that she is fully correct to point out to an absent-minded/uncaring parent that her kid is destroying the store's property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you are most definitely a better mother than the lady in Starbucks. The fact that your child sat quietly in the stroller is proof. Thank goodness there are people like you fighting for the rights of cookie lovers everywhere. You go with your bad self! Three snaps up!

Now please, tell all your friends and family members this story too, so they can also praise your superior parenting skills. It's only right.

Haaaa! Love this post!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:at Starbucks yesterday and you pretended you didn't see it. I was behind you in line and called you out "ma'am, your son is destroying the cookies" and you just grabbed the one he had in his hands and paid for it with a "whatever" attitude.

My DH wanted to crawl under the counter in shame (poor guy) while my oblivious 13 mo old sat quietly and happy strapped onto her stroller.

I looked at DH and said a bit louder than normal "and I hope people call me out when she acts like that and I don't notice" refering to my child and DH thanked heaven for not having anybody behind us in line

So now you tell me, what would you have done if you were in my place?

What if it was your kid squeezing all the cookies on the counter one by one and putting them back in the basket?

totally passive aggressive

Call her out to her face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the child was special needs and being "better than normal".

Then he should not be taken out in public, ever. Being special needs is not a license to destroy other people's property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think there was anything wrong with drawing the mother's attention to her son's actions, but saying "your son is destroying the cookies" makes you sound like a Judgy McJudgerson. Why not something like, "Oh, looks like your little guy has his hands in the cookies!"

And then your passive aggressive, "louder than normal" comment to your DH was just plain rude.

It takes so little effort to be kind, OP. You chose not to be. I can understand why your DH was embarrassed. I would have been embarrassed, too.

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the child was special needs and being "better than normal".

Then he should not be taken out in public, ever. Being special needs is not a license to destroy other people's property.

right
so right

We should keep them locked up in institutions b/c they're not as good as the "normal" ones are.

You're an idiot.

btw - If the kid in OP's post had special needs, then the only one to blame for his behavior was the parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you remind me of a woman I ran into at the post office a few years ago. I had a 4 year old, 2 year old and infant at home and ran in to mail some packages. I was exhausted and apparently I was sighing. You know, deep breath in and then let it our with a sigh. I wasn't aware of it. The woman in front of me on line turned around and said something like " you are being very loud" in a very nasty tone. My breathing bothered her so much she had to comment on it. I said nothing and got nice and quiet for her. I have always thought of that woman as a total wretch. Do you realize you come off this way? Even your husband was embarrassed.

Cookie destroyer is a bad child. CCookie destroyer mom was a less than stellar mom. What are you?

Right on! I love this post. OP you sound like a wench.

[Anonymous]

I guess I'm a horrible parent but I can totally see myself ignoring this behavior on some of my very worst days. I have absolutely been in a line before and thought to myself, just don't start crying before you order your latte. I have driven 30 minutes JUST to get to a drive though Starbucks, JUST to have something to do, a little caffeine, and some personal space in my driver's seat. Being a mom is tough, and if at all possible, I try to cut other moms some slack. I was a kindergarten teacher before I decided to SAH. I know that parents can create horribly behaved children. I also know that one set of parents can create one horribly behaved child and one angel. I'm just saying, don't be so, um, what's the word? Despicable. You never know what's going on with someone.

[Anonymous]

I thought OP's husband was embarrassed for the oblivious mother, not his wife.

[Anonymous]

OP, remember your own mama? Sounds she was also a bad parent because she obviously never taught you that two wrongs don't make a right. YOur 13 month old was there and you modeled bad behavior for her. Now will she think it is okay to deride others in public when they slip up? To beat a dead horse?

Yeah, okay, the cookie crunching kid was in the wrong, and maybe mom was too if she really saw it and didn't intervene (how are you so sure she saw it?). But when you said something rudely to her you entered the domain of wrong and rude and when you kept on about it after you'd said something the first time that made you a pest and an asshole.

Here's what you should have done. Softly noted to mom "Hey, your little one is crushing all of those cookies! Not sure you noticed." With a genuine smile. And then STFU, because anything you say beyond that makes you a horse's ass.

Your DH was right to be embarrassed and I hope you shape up before your daughter is old enough to start imitating mama.

[Anonymous]

Parents have an obligation to the rest of the public to teach their children to behave, special needs or not. Breaking up the cookies rendered them unsalable and money was lost by the store. Perhaps they should put up a sign that says "if you or your child breaks cookies, you will have to buy them." Similar to the one in gift shops: "Love to look at, delightful to hold, drop and break it and then its sold."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm a horrible parent but I can totally see myself ignoring this behavior on some of my very worst days. I have absolutely been in a line before and thought to myself, just don't start crying before you order your latte. I have driven 30 minutes JUST to get to a drive though Starbucks, JUST to have something to do, a little caffeine, and some personal space in my driver's seat. Being a mom is tough, and if at all possible, I try to cut other moms some slack. I was a kindergarten teacher before I decided to SAH. I know that parents can create horribly behaved children. I also know that one set of parents can create one horribly behaved child and one angel. I'm just saying, don't be so, um, what's the word? Despicable. You never know what's going on with someone.

If I see this line posted one more time, I'm going to scream.

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, get back to us when your child is older than 13 months.

All children act up, yours will too. This I can assure you.

[Anonymous]

OK, the OP doesn't say how old the "cookie destroyer" is, so I don't know why everyone is assuming "special needs." Unless this was an older child, it's perfectly normal for kids to get into stuff they aren't supposed to. Should the mom have stopped him? Of course. But OP's holier-than-thou attitude didn't help the situation.

Maybe if you were a little less sanctimonious, OP, your DH wouldn't have been embarrassed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If I see this line posted one more time, I'm going to scream.

Go right ahead then, nobody cares. I've never seen this line posted and I'm not sure why it would bother you, but you sound like you're having a spectacular day.