Kids causing havoc in the supermarket? There's nothing like being mum-shamed by a total stranger to make you feel better.
On a scale of one-to-nightmare, taking your kids grocery shopping is pretty high up there on the list of things every parent dreads. From grabbing random items off the shelves and running off at top speed down the aisles to demanding baked goods and constantly trying to climb out of a moving trolley, it's basically a disaster waiting to happen.
Every parent knows this. You do what you can to get through it and you never- ever- judge other parents for their kids' behaviour at the shops. Just cos your child is happily munching on his free apple today doesn't mean he won't be pulling boxes of tampons off the shelf, opening them and throwing them on the floor tomorrow. Which is why this one mum's facebook post hit a nerve when she pleaded with the man who 'shamed' her at Costco for not paying enough attention to her kids.
"To the man at Costco"
Firstly, can I just ask how these people got to a point where they were confident enough to tell others how to live their lives? That's one thing about these stories I never understand, but, as a woman who has, herself, been mum-shamed at the supermarket (for giving my kid a cookie, no less) I know it happens. Anyway, I digress. The mum went on:
"I ran out of tricks and my kids ran out of patience"
She then proceeded to explain the things that she had already done in order to placate the two kids in the fifteen minutes she'd been waiting in line. And let's face it, fifteen minutes in a trolley might as well be fifteen hours in economy class when you've got two ratty children. She'd already done snacks, books, toys, clapping games and eye spy around the store. All of which the bloke hadn't seen because he'd just arrived in line. And honestly, it sucks waiting fifteen minutes when you're an adult let alone if you're two. But even with that in mind, she said,
Which was exactly when Old Mate decided to jump in with some helpful parenting advice and made her feel like total crap. Which we all get, because we've all been there. If it's not a direct stern word, it's a subtle eye roll or a deep sigh of barely concealed judgement. Whatever it is, it's not on, and this mum was right to call him out.
Amen. She couldn't be more right. However well-intentioned, kids who are not in any way related to you are not your problem. Let us manage our own madness and get on with your day.
This article was first published on Kidspot and republished here with permission.