Was I out of line at the grocery store with a shrieking toddler?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

The only self involved person here is the mother who is letting her toddler disturb a 100 other people. The fact that you two don't see that is beyond worrying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

A shopper who was being disturned by a brat whose parent refused to parent her. I thought you'd know this 11 pages in. You dont get to claim the whole store to yourself. Want to listen to your brat scream, take them home and have at it. In public spaces, we all get to enjoy it. I"m not OP BTW

Op made it sound like a saga. It could have been 2 minutes and she’s too precious to deal with any discomfort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

The only self involved person here is the mother who is letting her toddler disturb a 100 other people. The fact that you two don't see that is beyond worrying.

Oh, get real and stop being so dramatic. I’m actually worried about the kid too. Because something’s going on but most likely they’re tired or Mom said no I’m not going to buy you string cheese today.

Children are human beings too, and sometimes they have tough moments and can’t regulate themselves as well. As adults, we can be more patient.

It was harder for me to deal with when my child was little and I was burnt out. Now I see it differently I can deal with a kid who’s making noise because if they could do better, they would.

[Anonymous]

Lotta bad parents defending bad parenting here. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

A shopper who was being disturned by a brat whose parent refused to parent her. I thought you'd know this 11 pages in. You dont get to claim the whole store to yourself. Want to listen to your brat scream, take them home and have at it. In public spaces, we all get to enjoy it. I"m not OP BTW

Op made it sound like a saga. It could have been 2 minutes and she’s too precious to deal with any discomfort.

Or it could have been half an hour. You don't know. Either way, she did nothing wrong. Parent your brats, people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

The only self involved person here is the mother who is letting her toddler disturb a 100 other people. The fact that you two don't see that is beyond worrying.

Oh, get real and stop being so dramatic. I’m actually worried about the kid too. Because something’s going on but most likely they’re tired or Mom said no I’m not going to buy you string cheese today.

Children are human beings too, and sometimes they have tough moments and can’t regulate themselves as well. As adults, we can be more patient.

It was harder for me to deal with when my child was little and I was burnt out. Now I see it differently I can deal with a kid who’s making noise because if they could do better, they would.

Funny how she was able to regulate herself just fine after OP told her to knock it off. If only her mother had done that.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lotta bad parents defending bad parenting here. Yikes.

This is always the dumbest comment in these threads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lotta bad parents defending bad parenting here. Yikes.

I know, right....

The lengths they go to justify not parenting the spawn they inflict upon us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I used to be a nanny for a little girl with severe non verbal autism and something like this happened once. She was making noise in public (playfully) and some old bag complained that it was annoying.

I get that it's annoying but obviously if the mom cared or was able to stop her she would.

The mom didn’t care, so OP took matters into her own hands. Mom just didn’t like the implicit critique of her parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

The only self involved person here is the mother who is letting her toddler disturb a 100 other people. The fact that you two don't see that is beyond worrying.

Oh, get real and stop being so dramatic. I’m actually worried about the kid too. Because something’s going on but most likely they’re tired or Mom said no I’m not going to buy you string cheese today.

Children are human beings too, and sometimes they have tough moments and can’t regulate themselves as well. As adults, we can be more patient.

It was harder for me to deal with when my child was little and I was burnt out. Now I see it differently I can deal with a kid who’s making noise because if they could do better, they would.

Funny how she was able to regulate herself just fine after OP told her to knock it off. If only her mother had done that.....

That wasn’t funny at all. You’d likely shut down if some stranger scolded you in public, too. OP is a complete tool.

[Anonymous]

This is why I do grocery pickup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

Anyone can talk to anyone in public. Who do you think you and your child are?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

You were more than out of line. You were a cool unicorn needing tacos.

How dare you scold someone else’s child? Like, who do you think you ARE?

I love you.

Also, that is now my way of describing folks that are so self involved - cool unicorns needing tacos 😂😂😂😂

THANK YOU

The only self involved person here is the mother who is letting her toddler disturb a 100 other people. The fact that you two don't see that is beyond worrying.

Oh, get real and stop being so dramatic. I’m actually worried about the kid too. Because something’s going on but most likely they’re tired or Mom said no I’m not going to buy you string cheese today.

Children are human beings too, and sometimes they have tough moments and can’t regulate themselves as well. As adults, we can be more patient.

It was harder for me to deal with when my child was little and I was burnt out. Now I see it differently I can deal with a kid who’s making noise because if they could do better, they would.

Funny how she was able to regulate herself just fine after OP told her to knock it off. If only her mother had done that.....

DP but actually OP said the kid burst into tears. I don't think you know what regulation is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I used to be a nanny for a little girl with severe non verbal autism and something like this happened once. She was making noise in public (playfully) and some old bag complained that it was annoying.

I get that it's annoying but obviously if the mom cared or was able to stop her she would.

The mom didn’t care, so OP took matters into her own hands. Mom just didn’t like the implicit critique of her parenting.

No, she was just putting the unhinged, batshit crazy OP in her place.