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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love that you did that. Expletive that mom.

Yep.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 young boys and I do not mind them being (reasonably and calmly) corrected by others at all. A correction from a stranger can be so much more effective than a parent who is actively trying to get them to stop and they're just ignoring.

I clearly remember the couple of times strangers corrected me as a kid - for example when I kept trying to trying to interrupt my mom who was trying to have a complicated conversation with a customer service person and i was being super obnoxious and an older lady in line sternly told me "you need to wait quietly for your mom to finish, you are far too old to be bothering people like this". never did that again!

[Anonymous]

I really hate it when people pretend the feelings of toddlers don't matter, like when they're screaming and arching their backs in a stroller and the parents pretend nothing is happening, or when they don't want to get in the stroller in the first place and are just shoved into it anyway and then the caregiver completely ignores their distress. If the parents (or caregivers) don't care about the child's feelings, who the hell will? The mother laughing at a shrieking child is a terrible parent, because she is laughing at a child's distress. I would have been disgusted to see that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good for you! I don't understand how parents let their children behave this way in public. There are tween (12yr old) girls at our pool in the summer who shriek and act obnoxious. they know they are doing it because the laugh and joke about annoying people. If it were my kid I would tell them right away to stop being obnoxious. Kids need to be called out.

For misbehaving tween kids in supermarket, I give the serious side-eye to the parent - this is after I have yelled "hey, watch it" as the tween tries to run me down. For a screaming baby, I just give the side-eye to mother - never confront baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read all the replies, but wanted to share..Once saw a Mom clearly struggling with her daughter. Remembered hearing to be nice to the Mom to be helpful. Said something empathetic, and the Mom burst into tears. She was overwhelmed, her daughter had special needs, and Mom really needed to pee! I’m an RN, showed her my ID and we went to the back of the store, I stayed with her daughter while she used the restroom. She actually cried because someone reached out to her

+1 Empathy

How does that apply to OP who saw a mom delighting in the shrieking? That wouldn't signal to anyone a mom was in distress, rather it points to mom being a sociopath.

Don't be an idiot. The mom was probably trying to get the baby to stop crying by acting in a fun manner rather than by yelling at a very young baby/toddler.

And yet, OP is what stopped it, idiot.

I hope you’re enjoying all the memories when people told you about your ain’t-shit parenting.

OP, well done! Let the losers who can’t pluralize “Karen” spend a weekend both insisting the child may have been SN, and also insulting individuals with ASD. On DCUM, the mama bears get ornery not when their cubs are spoken to, but when it dawns on them that they caused that scenario…

I volunteer in an animal shelter - and have learned that Mothers's go crazy when little Larlo/Larla is corrected directly for inappropriate behavior. I now tell the Mom the expectations. She usually says "are you listening, Larlo/Larla?" No more belligerent Mama Bear to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

They would not do anything, specifically because they don't want the mom to bite their heads off. Or worse, lodge a complaint against them and get them fired.

Employs at retail stores have virtually zero power in any situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

They would not do anything, specifically because they don't want the mom to bite their heads off. Or worse, lodge a complaint against them and get them fired.

Employs at retail stores have virtually zero power in any situation.

Speaking as someone who's been (rightfully) confronted by an employee over my child's behavior, I can attest that this isn't true. It's their job. If they don't do anything, then lodge a complaint against them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hate it when people pretend the feelings of toddlers don't matter, like when they're screaming and arching their backs in a stroller and the parents pretend nothing is happening, or when they don't want to get in the stroller in the first place and are just shoved into it anyway and then the caregiver completely ignores their distress. If the parents (or caregivers) don't care about the child's feelings, who the hell will? The mother laughing at a shrieking child is a terrible parent, because she is laughing at a child's distress. I would have been disgusted to see that.

I was imagining this child shrieking with laughter and mom was enjoying the interaction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

They would not do anything, specifically because they don't want the mom to bite their heads off. Or worse, lodge a complaint against them and get them fired.

Employs at retail stores have virtually zero power in any situation.

Speaking as someone who's been (rightfully) confronted by an employee over my child's behavior, I can attest that this isn't true. It's their job. If they don't do anything, then lodge a complaint against them.

Oh please, if they don't keep people from shoplifting groceries, they are not going to stop toddlers from shrieking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate it when people pretend the feelings of toddlers don't matter, like when they're screaming and arching their backs in a stroller and the parents pretend nothing is happening, or when they don't want to get in the stroller in the first place and are just shoved into it anyway and then the caregiver completely ignores their distress. If the parents (or caregivers) don't care about the child's feelings, who the hell will? The mother laughing at a shrieking child is a terrible parent, because she is laughing at a child's distress. I would have been disgusted to see that.

I was imagining this child shrieking with laughter and mom was enjoying the interaction.

+1. Child didn't start showing distress until OP talked to her and then the child started crying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

They would not do anything, specifically because they don't want the mom to bite their heads off. Or worse, lodge a complaint against them and get them fired.

Employs at retail stores have virtually zero power in any situation.

Speaking as someone who's been (rightfully) confronted by an employee over my child's behavior, I can attest that this isn't true. It's their job. If they don't do anything, then lodge a complaint against them.

Oh please, if they don't keep people from shoplifting groceries, they are not going to stop toddlers from shrieking.

Ok, well I've witnessed them catching people trying to shoplift, too. So this also isn't true. Maybe you should try a different store.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is bothering people around them then it's time to take them home, or at least out of the situation. This is true of the grocery store, story time, a movie, whatever.

Mother was in the checkout line so ready to leave when finished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Should have complained to the store's mamager or employees, and let them handle it.

They would not do anything, specifically because they don't want the mom to bite their heads off. Or worse, lodge a complaint against them and get them fired.

Employs at retail stores have virtually zero power in any situation.

Speaking as someone who's been (rightfully) confronted by an employee over my child's behavior, I can attest that this isn't true. It's their job. If they don't do anything, then lodge a complaint against them.

Oh please, if they don't keep people from shoplifting groceries, they are not going to stop toddlers from shrieking.

Ok, well I've witnessed them catching people trying to shoplift, too. So this also isn't true. Maybe you should try a different store.

I'd rather they attend to shoplifters than babies, wouldn't you? Those shoplifters are costing us money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn’t read all the replies, but wanted to share..Once saw a Mom clearly struggling with her daughter. Remembered hearing to be nice to the Mom to be helpful. Said something empathetic, and the Mom burst into tears. She was overwhelmed, her daughter had special needs, and Mom really needed to pee! I’m an RN, showed her my ID and we went to the back of the store, I stayed with her daughter while she used the restroom. She actually cried because someone reached out to her

+1 Empathy

How does that apply to OP who saw a mom delighting in the shrieking? That wouldn't signal to anyone a mom was in distress, rather it points to mom being a sociopath.

Don't be an idiot. The mom was probably trying to get the baby to stop crying by acting in a fun manner rather than by yelling at a very young baby/toddler.

And yet, OP is what stopped it, idiot.

I hope you’re enjoying all the memories when people told you about your ain’t-shit parenting.

OP, well done! Let the losers who can’t pluralize “Karen” spend a weekend both insisting the child may have been SN, and also insulting individuals with ASD. On DCUM, the mama bears get ornery not when their cubs are spoken to, but when it dawns on them that they caused that scenario…

I volunteer in an animal shelter - and have learned that Mothers's go crazy when little Larlo/Larla is corrected directly for inappropriate behavior. I now tell the Mom the expectations. She usually says "are you listening, Larlo/Larla?" No more belligerent Mama Bear to deal with.

You learned this in an animal shelter?