Few kids really relish the thought of a family supermarket trip.
That said, for every child who hates the supermarket, there’ll be two ashen-faced parents who hate the idea even more.
So spare a thought for the mum or dad who is not only dealing with a shopping excursion, but also a tantrum on top of that.
They’re NEVER going to welcome interference from strangers – especially if that interference is harsh criticism.
Unfortunately, this is what one mum recently had to deal with when a stranger accosted her in the supermarket and commented on her kids’ behaviour.
The trip was already fraught with worry for Reddit user MamaCas .
She had just come back from a long camping trip with two very tired and grouchy children, age two and five-years-old. With no food in the house, there was no avoiding it.
Initially, however, it wasn’t a complete disaster.
"Then my daughter starts playing games and singing and dancing at son (who is strapped in the cart).
"Then the screaming starts. daughter is holding onto the cart and son hates it so he starts screaming at her."
Her daughter goes to the other side of the trolley after some coaxing, "but that is not good enough for son. He doesn’t want her touching the cart at all.
"I just need to get done and get out of there. They were loud, but they were occupied! Most of the time they were having fun with each other. We are a loud family so none of what they were doing didn’t seemed bad to me."
But while perusing the veggie aisle, it became clear that being a "loud" family certainly seemed bad to others.
The mum continues: "This lady comes up and say, ‘You know, your kids are being very loud in the store. You really need to teach them to use there inside voices. My kids are in college now, but when they were little they were never that loud because we taught them how to use in door voices.’
"Ever been in shock? I was!"
"The only thing, at that moment I could think of saying was, ‘Oh My God. Get away from me.’ She says basically the same thing over again."
It was a this point that another stranger decided to intervene – but in a much more positive way.
"This other lady comes up next to me and says, ‘Hey, Susan! (not my name) How have you been? Haven’t seen you in a while. Come on let’s catch up.’
"And I follow her around the corner with my basket and kids. This lady is following us still loudly talking about how people use to listen to advise and that I need to control my kids.
"This other lady just looks at me wide eyed and we just exchange the ‘this women is crazy’ stare at each other. The lady goes back around the corner.
"I introduce myself and thank her for saving my, about to go ballistic, ass. She introduced herself as Jill and said that she needed to do something and that was the only thing she could think of.
"We talked for a minute and she was very kind she really didn’t see the problem. She said they looked like they were acting like really young kids to her.
"The other lady came back around the corner with the same song. We decided to keep moving and again shared the ‘this women is really crazy’ stare."
Since the supermarket incident, the mum has had chance to reflect on what happened, and writes:
"Someone once said, ‘everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about’.
"Parenting is hard, no one is a perfect parent at all times, and we are all trying our very best. It is just some days you just can’t win and can’t be your best."
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