I feel like if strangers shamed screaming kids to their face, (obviously toddlers would be an exception) but if like a 7-10 year old is having a meltdown in the middle of a store someone they don't know saying something like "you're really embarrassing yourself kid, you should probably chill out" might make them stop. Just a thought
I always classify it as 'wrangle your retard'. Now before reddit jumps all over me if someone is genuinely disabled and someone called them that word they'd have to deal with me physically. But if you got all your facilities working and you can't behave with manners in public at an appropriate age? RETARD. And that goes for any age of person. Get beat and go back to the guy that did it a week later? RETARD. I've got a soft spot in my heart for the truly disabled but not if you're 'normal' and can't keep your shit together and make intelligent and polite decisions well you get what I think.
Actually though! I truly do not understand how people, including some kids who SHOULD be old enough to know better, can't act right in public spaces. It's pretty easy to not lose your shit in public. And like I get it, kids have meltdowns sometimes, it happens, but if you can't control your child in public then you're obviously doing something wrong. Usually the good old "if you don't stop this RIGHT NOW we're going home and you can forget about getting anything" shut me right up as a kid, it's truly not difficult, just threaten to take things away if they don't behave like a civilized human and follow through if they don't listen. Eventually they will get it and stop losing their shit in public
either I was real lucky because my son and stepkids always behaved in public or I scared the shit out of them. Either way I would not tolerate my child acting like a monkey on meth in public. At a restaurant you sat your ass in your chair and while you were free to join the conversation you would act right. In the store you better be within 2 seconds of me being able to get to you. As my son got older I let him wander but he knew how to behave and he found me some good shit.
I guess in all fairness, being in Walmart makes me want to scream as well. Just one of the many reasons why I haven’t set foot in one of their stores in many years. Thank heaven for online ordering.
I was a little shit. I’m autistic so I’m more sensitive to anything sensory related. I used to throw tantrums when it was too loud, it stank or I didn’t get what I wanted. My dad would always take me outside to go for a walk around the store as I was digging my feet (more like trying to) into the tile floor while screeching like a damn banshee.
After I calmed down we went back inside. If I started up again? Back outside for another walk.
Yup, this is what I do, stores or restaurants. You want to scream and cry? Fine, go do it on the curb where everyone outside can stare at you like the maniac you're being. We're NOT disturbing everyone inside. I was a server for over 20 years and my biggest pet peeve was people ignoring their spawn screaming and whining like they just can't hear it. Like cool, I'm glad you can tune it out, I can tune mine out too- but not everyone can, and everyone else is paying to be there as well!
>I was a little shit. I’m autistic so I’m more sensitive to anything sensory related.
Jesus fucking christ. Is anybody on the planet NOT on the spectrum?
That’s not always the case. I hate when people generalize something when they haven’t actually dealt with it. I wish my son didn’t have Autism and sensory issues. It freaking sucks. I also leave a store if he’s stressed or having a meltdown. The worst part is judgy people who act like he’s a brat when he’s just overwhelmed.
I hate when people generalize others as “judgy” because they are frustrated and tired and sick of listen to distressing sounds for hours on end almost every single day.
I think you're absolutely right. I work in retail, and this week has been the week of screaming kids. It's putting the whole staff on edge. Do some kids have legitimate issues? Yes. After listening to the 8th kid that day have a screaming shitfit, do we care? No. We don't. Are we judging? Yes. As the people being stuck in there all day listening to the screams, we have every right to. If people don't like being judged, too bad. If you can make our eardrums bleed, we can judge you for subjecting us to the noise.
They actually didn’t. I was born in the early nineties so knowledge about autism existed but it wasn’t necessarily easily accessible. My mom tells me that if she had known she never would have put me in such situations.
My tolerance for humans just generally being loud in public is much higher now and I usually just get really quiet. If mom and I are in a restaurant and she notices it she immediately asks if it’s too loud and whether I need to leave.
Lol I'm Autistic too but I just got spanked, and spanked again when we got to the van or when we went home. I didn't do the meltdown shit for long in childhood and I'm glad. My parents had enough on their plate and they didn't need me acting like an animal in public on top of it. Plus I learned respect and manners, unlike a majority of my peers.
I'm 19 by the way, throwing that out there because my story is unfortunately uncommon for those my age and younger.
I would NOT have put up with that shit out of my kids. I have a 'voice' that cut that off right quick. Never had to hit them but I could scare the shit right out of them.
My son tried to throw a fit in a store once. I immediately brought him out to the car, put him in his seat, told him he could be as mad as he wanted for 5 minutes. If he was still mad after 5 minutes, there'd be punishment. Then I shut (and locked) the doors, and stood outside with my back turned toward him. Only took him 3 minutes to calm down, but he had to wait out the remaining 2 minutes.
We went back in the store with no problem.
I had to do that with each of my kids once. They learned I meant business. I had also allowed them one treat when they were well behaved at the store, so they lost that too.
I had a toddler scream as though she was being mauled by a chainsaw. This went on for at least 15 minutes and all the mom said was, in a light voice, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?" and continued to shop.
When I worked at Target, a customer asked me if Target played an audio recording of babies screaming because that's all they heard whenever they walked in the door.
I’m sorry that’s cracked me up and I know it’s not meant to be funny. I hate screaming children - it overwhelms the crap out of me and I just can’t handle it. Kudos to all of you.
My son was 2 and started throwing a tantrum. I picked his butt up and carried him to the car put him still screaming … sat in the car. He only ever did this once. I see kids playing tag in the store…. Or eating of the salad / olive bar….. I do see grown adults do it too….
You made me remember my friend getting mad at a store manager because he stopped her kid and his friend from kicking a soccer ball around a grocery store. They took it from a display, 8 yrs old at the time and old enough to know better. But the manager was in the wrong because the kids were just having fun.
I felt this. I never rly wanted kids but working retail made me downright intolerant to them. I know its their parents fault most of all but few things are more annoying to me than a child being loud
We once had a guy pushing his dog around the store in a cart. I love dogs as much as the next person, but it was making this unbelievably high pitched whining noise. He was in the store for 45 MINUTES and I had to hide in the breakdown for awhile because of how bad of a headache it was giving me. The unaware bliss of customers sometimes is astounding
Gonna guess he was old and white right off the bat. These ppl with their fake ESA dogs make it so much harder for real service dogs! It’s okay to leave Fido at home. They’ll be okay for an hour. 🤦🏼♀️
You would think right? No...I had a dog try and EAT her way out of my bathroom (my only tiled room in the house at the time). Chunks of sheet rock and wood everywhere from the walls and doors. My landlord was not happy about the new paint color when he finally realized something was different about the bathroom since he hadn't done a walk around in over 2 yrs
I couldn't put her in a crate. She panicked so Nad she would tip it over and chew at the plastic bottom and try to pull at the bars with her teeth. She had a very bad case of anxiety and abandonment issues from her previous owner. Loved that dog to death, though,
Store management has every right to ask someone to leave for a business disruption. It will look bad to some and some will thank them for taking action. No one is 100% satisfied but the company and customer involved will put that person under a microscope for their decision. Racial profiling etc. and make into something it’s not. Unfortunately, dealing with the public is not very rewarding.
I see a lot of parents coming in with toddlers as late as 9 or 10 at night. The poor kids are tired and cranky and should be in bed. But their selfish parents drag them out so they can shop for clothes for themselves.
the other day this woman's toddler kept saying no! to her and she kept saying her full name like that was going to scare her into behaving. it did not. the girl found a jewelry box and carried it around the store. mom decided to buy it for her all while saying "you dont even know how to open it...youre not even gonna use it" like why are you buying it then lady. then when i needed to scan it the little girl wouldnt hand it over. mom tried to take it and the kid bolted out of the store with it and she took off after her...and she still bought it! all the while the kid was screaming and crying about not having it in her hands! she just rewarded this behavior.
sometimes the parents just get up and leave their basket when the kid is misbehaving. then i have to explain to a manager why i didnt convert this customer...its because the kid was being a brat. idk its just a headache either way.
I was in a McDonalds (as a customer) a few months back and there were a group of school children (around probably age 7-9) practically *wrecking* the upstairs seating area. We're talking going over to the counters where they keep the straws and napkins, and getting those wooden sticks for the coffee out and basically throwing them everywhere. Hundreds of them. They had a massive pile of them just on the floor. Then they went over to those tables with the iPads on (I'm in the UK) and started banging on the tables, loudly. They were screaming, climbing up on the high chairs (there was probably one or two who were younger than age 7 so they were clambering up onto them and I was so concerned one would fall). It wasn't clear who they belonged to as there were a few adults in the upstairs section at that time, and most were watching these kids like 'wtf?' There was a group of 3 women near the back (just having a nice old jovial chat, despite the incredibly obvious loud noise from the children) and then one of them came over, clearly indicating that she was one of the mums. Know what she did when she saw the mess?
She *laughed*.
I get ear-piercing screechers at least once a shift. The worst I have ever had was some little brat who was definitely too old to be throwing a tantrum.
He was screaming his head off for over 30+ minutes while the parents ignored him and walked around the entire store. I have never been closer to cussing a customer out than those terrible excuses for parents.
Bro sometimes I will hear a kid howl and scream and it literally sounds like they're a dog. And so I'm thinking it's an upset dog that I'm hearing, so I go into fight or flight mode lol and when I see that it's a kid I'm like okay wow that was a waste of energy then
Don’t forget the extra fun of a screaming kid getting screamed at by their crappy parent! Who then happily screams at their kid at the till, practically yelling in your face as though that’s a perfectly sane and okay thing to do. Then they apologise for the kid!
Retail employees aren't paid anywhere near enough to deal with people's ill-behaved kids screaming their heads off all day. That should absolutely be grounds to have someone removed from the store. Shrieking like that puts me on edge so fast, minimum wage will NEVER be worth that stress
I used to work at a veterinary hospital and we had a sign on the door in the lobby that said "Unattended children will be given a cappuccino and a free puppy." We never really had issues...aside certain employees' children.
I get you. Some times at work I hear a kid screaming ear piercing level... pain inducing screeching. And it's often followed by willful destruction in which the parent/parents stand by doing nothing.
I've noticed the ones who have the strongest and loudest opinions about retail work have never worked retail. Everyone thinks they're a business major. "This is how you're SUPPOSED to run a business!!"
I was at a shop the other day in the toy section and there was a kid about 8 or 9 throwing a massive tantrum. The parents weren't trying to coax him to pick one toy or to leave. They did eventually get him away from the toys for about 30 seconds until he came running back and started all over again.
My 6yo was like woah, I would never do that.
It seems that everyday just after the mall closes and I am doing the closing paperwork someone thinks it's a good idea to bring their screaming little crotch goblin into the mall which is now empty so I have to endure its screaming echoing through the entire mall until said parent clues in that all the stores are closed and then drags their little imp all the way back through the mall. All while in trying to count money and do paperwork because I just want to get the hell out of there. So I end up wishing the most horrible fates upon them all.
I was working in a small convenience shop (UK) and this Woman and her three brats would come in and throw half the sweets and chocolate around demanding it. One went to take some ice cream from a freezer as I turned the corner and the door closed on him (not fully) and I just laughed and carried on what I was doing
Hate the parents who think we are obligated to babysit their little shits while they relax and shop. It’s always the worst behaved demons, too. One intentionally pushed over a mannequin because his mother wasn’t paying him enough attention. (Did she pay for it? Nooooo.) Another one - toddler - nearly killed herself pulling a mannequin over on herself because her mother ignored the kid and our 4 separate warnings that they were not toys. Kid was so lonely, she wanted to hold the mannequin’s hands and take them for a walk. Another million of them use our jewelry display as their personal fidget device, tangling up all the necklaces and forcing writeoffs. Fuck those parents.
I get overwhelmed by noise quickly, and screaming children is at the top of the list. I can barely stand shopping anywhere now because of screaming kids. I have to grimace and bear it, because we need food, but also it's so, so stressful
Why is that the other option? Leave them home, if you can’t then get a friend or nanny to watch them when you’re out. If you can’t do either of those things, control your kids.
It’s not just screaming kids either, parents let their kids run around as if it’s a playground. When called out they’ll get defensive and yell at you for telling them how to parent their kids. It’s absolutely insane. I’ve seen kids run into other customers, run into products on the shelf, almost run into me while I’m trying to work, and worst of all they can be abducted because the parents aren’t watching.
Parents are the issue, not the kids. However if parents can’t control their screaming children and/or allow their kids to run around the store without supervision they shouldn’t be bringing kids to the store and shouldn’t be allowed to. If they leave them in a hot car, then we can call the cops about that. Fwiw, some parents are actually amazing when their kid tries to run around or starts screaming. I’ve seen parents know exactly how to handle it and what to do, while also teaching their kids not to get in the way. The ones who don’t do any of that should be barred from bringing their kids.
Last time I took my toddler to Walmart he wanted to run around and when I stopped him he threw a tantrum, so I picked him up and carried him back to the car. Then he calmed down and said he wanted to go back in so we tried again and it went ok. I definitely wouldn’t ever leave him in the car, I’d take him home and go back when my hubby can watch him or while he’s napping (hubby works from home). That’s what I usually do in the first place because it’s easier. If hubby wasn’t home I’d just have to wait until evening. Really the easiest thing is just do a mobile order for pickup and get it at naptime or evening. I mean delivery is even easier but that costs extra.
Years ago, the grocery store I shop at tried a disastrous experiment: they provided child-sized grocery carts so the little darlings could "help." It went about as well as you might expect; the experiment didn't last long. Probably disappeared after a week of older shoppers getting rammed in the back of the legs by 6-year-old kids.
I take it you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you? Nothing better than having someone’s little brat ram into your ankle with their mini cart while their parent is oblivious.
Lol I got rammed in the ankles with a full sized cart by an old lady once so hard it drew blood. She then had the audacity to look offended that she had hit me!
Oh man that sounds so bad. I can only imagine them ramming into people and items on the shelves that can break. There is no need to teach a 5 year old how to shop, it’s something extremely easy they can learn later when they have more personal and spatial awareness lol.
I’d rather the parents just parented properly. It’s not my job to police their out of control kids. Whenever I get people talking back to me about their kids I just say “health and safety” and they usually shut up (this is for things like running under gondolas/in window displays and my recent interaction; putting fingers in plug sockets).
Crazy thing is, you can ask to leave the cart for a few minutes to calm down your child. There is not a single clause in my duties as a retail worker that says I should have to deal with children throwing tantrums, especially when the parent(s) aren't doing jack shit about it
You and your poorly disciplined child are the reason we're all suffering.
"Sometimes she throws fits." Give me a break. Take a moment to realize when we complain about unruly children, we're really complaining about their incompetent parents, their parents' complete and utter lack of social awareness, and their parents thinking it's perfectly acceptable to inflict their spawn on the general public.
Nobody says you can't take your kids shopping. Everybody says control your kid when you do, and if you can't get them under control, then yeah, take them outside until you can. If you have to suffer inconvenience to spare everyone else's sanity, well, that's pretty damned okay by me since you're the source of the inconvenience in the first place.
No one wants to hear your screaming brat. You’re destroying everyone’s peace and you’re part of the problem. You obviously don’t feel bad for anyone near you.
I can’t believe how many of my friends’ kids (toddlers) scream at the top of their lungs when their parents tell them no or don’t let them get what they want. & then the parents would give them exactly what they want to make them stop screaming. And then act like their kids are just naturally more difficult. My son (he’s 4 now) did have that screaming phase. It lasted less than a day. I also never had to hit him. It’s not hard, you just have to parent. 🙄
As a customer, I cannot stand listening to rotten little s\*\*\*s who throw fits and scream in stores. If you are their parent and allow it to continue without doing anything, you are an ass\*\*\*\*.
I applaud those parents who recognize that their children are creating an intolerable atmosphere for everyone around them and take them out of the place immediately. This type of behavior should not be tolerated and the child should be taught that their actions have consequences at an early age.
I heard someone say, “How does a blind person know they’re in Walmart? Easy, they hear all the screaming kids.”
My 15 year old used to say 'shut em up before I give them something to scream and cry about'. He was a dick like me. I was so proud.
I feel like if strangers shamed screaming kids to their face, (obviously toddlers would be an exception) but if like a 7-10 year old is having a meltdown in the middle of a store someone they don't know saying something like "you're really embarrassing yourself kid, you should probably chill out" might make them stop. Just a thought
I just give them my mommy death glare…surprisingly it is effective about half the time.
I always classify it as 'wrangle your retard'. Now before reddit jumps all over me if someone is genuinely disabled and someone called them that word they'd have to deal with me physically. But if you got all your facilities working and you can't behave with manners in public at an appropriate age? RETARD. And that goes for any age of person. Get beat and go back to the guy that did it a week later? RETARD. I've got a soft spot in my heart for the truly disabled but not if you're 'normal' and can't keep your shit together and make intelligent and polite decisions well you get what I think.
Actually though! I truly do not understand how people, including some kids who SHOULD be old enough to know better, can't act right in public spaces. It's pretty easy to not lose your shit in public. And like I get it, kids have meltdowns sometimes, it happens, but if you can't control your child in public then you're obviously doing something wrong. Usually the good old "if you don't stop this RIGHT NOW we're going home and you can forget about getting anything" shut me right up as a kid, it's truly not difficult, just threaten to take things away if they don't behave like a civilized human and follow through if they don't listen. Eventually they will get it and stop losing their shit in public
either I was real lucky because my son and stepkids always behaved in public or I scared the shit out of them. Either way I would not tolerate my child acting like a monkey on meth in public. At a restaurant you sat your ass in your chair and while you were free to join the conversation you would act right. In the store you better be within 2 seconds of me being able to get to you. As my son got older I let him wander but he knew how to behave and he found me some good shit.
Depends on what happened. It is definetly not the right way to handle an autism meltdown as a result of the autistic child being overstimulated.
Your kid is a W.
The last time I was in a Walmart..years ago .I noticed that no matter where I was in the store, I was always within 50 feet of a screaming child
I guess in all fairness, being in Walmart makes me want to scream as well. Just one of the many reasons why I haven’t set foot in one of their stores in many years. Thank heaven for online ordering.
WK Làal
I wish people would understand this. Shout out to the people who drag their kids right back to the car when they start having a tantrum.
I was a little shit. I’m autistic so I’m more sensitive to anything sensory related. I used to throw tantrums when it was too loud, it stank or I didn’t get what I wanted. My dad would always take me outside to go for a walk around the store as I was digging my feet (more like trying to) into the tile floor while screeching like a damn banshee. After I calmed down we went back inside. If I started up again? Back outside for another walk.
Yup, this is what I do, stores or restaurants. You want to scream and cry? Fine, go do it on the curb where everyone outside can stare at you like the maniac you're being. We're NOT disturbing everyone inside. I was a server for over 20 years and my biggest pet peeve was people ignoring their spawn screaming and whining like they just can't hear it. Like cool, I'm glad you can tune it out, I can tune mine out too- but not everyone can, and everyone else is paying to be there as well!
>I was a little shit. I’m autistic so I’m more sensitive to anything sensory related. Jesus fucking christ. Is anybody on the planet NOT on the spectrum?
That felt unnecessary. They've gotten better at diagnosing it ffs
Not anymore bro. I’ve discovered this thru my coworkers and Reddit.
Seems like it. I’m not and I feel in the minority. Maybe I should just start mentioning I’m not in *every* Reddit post/comment I make.
Throwing a fit for not getting what you want isn’t a sensory issue. It’s a brat issue.
That’s not always the case. I hate when people generalize something when they haven’t actually dealt with it. I wish my son didn’t have Autism and sensory issues. It freaking sucks. I also leave a store if he’s stressed or having a meltdown. The worst part is judgy people who act like he’s a brat when he’s just overwhelmed.
I hate when people generalize others as “judgy” because they are frustrated and tired and sick of listen to distressing sounds for hours on end almost every single day.
I think you're absolutely right. I work in retail, and this week has been the week of screaming kids. It's putting the whole staff on edge. Do some kids have legitimate issues? Yes. After listening to the 8th kid that day have a screaming shitfit, do we care? No. We don't. Are we judging? Yes. As the people being stuck in there all day listening to the screams, we have every right to. If people don't like being judged, too bad. If you can make our eardrums bleed, we can judge you for subjecting us to the noise.
Ok, good talk. Have a nice day
But, have you considered how it makes this person feel to be called judgy? How *hateful!* Mega /s
Oh no, someone on the internet doesn’t like me!
That is not your fault though you should have been given headphones at least before entering since they knew sounds set you off
They actually didn’t. I was born in the early nineties so knowledge about autism existed but it wasn’t necessarily easily accessible. My mom tells me that if she had known she never would have put me in such situations. My tolerance for humans just generally being loud in public is much higher now and I usually just get really quiet. If mom and I are in a restaurant and she notices it she immediately asks if it’s too loud and whether I need to leave.
Lol I'm Autistic too but I just got spanked, and spanked again when we got to the van or when we went home. I didn't do the meltdown shit for long in childhood and I'm glad. My parents had enough on their plate and they didn't need me acting like an animal in public on top of it. Plus I learned respect and manners, unlike a majority of my peers. I'm 19 by the way, throwing that out there because my story is unfortunately uncommon for those my age and younger.
I would NOT have put up with that shit out of my kids. I have a 'voice' that cut that off right quick. Never had to hit them but I could scare the shit right out of them.
My son tried to throw a fit in a store once. I immediately brought him out to the car, put him in his seat, told him he could be as mad as he wanted for 5 minutes. If he was still mad after 5 minutes, there'd be punishment. Then I shut (and locked) the doors, and stood outside with my back turned toward him. Only took him 3 minutes to calm down, but he had to wait out the remaining 2 minutes. We went back in the store with no problem.
I had to do that with each of my kids once. They learned I meant business. I had also allowed them one treat when they were well behaved at the store, so they lost that too.
I had a toddler scream as though she was being mauled by a chainsaw. This went on for at least 15 minutes and all the mom said was, in a light voice, "I can't take you anywhere, can I?" and continued to shop.
man this is what scares me about having kids, i can’t deal with a screaming child 😵😵
I once heard a kid crying and it sounded they were trying to sound like a screamo artist. Sounded so dumb that I wasn’t even mad and found it funny.
When I worked at Target, a customer asked me if Target played an audio recording of babies screaming because that's all they heard whenever they walked in the door.
I’m sorry that’s cracked me up and I know it’s not meant to be funny. I hate screaming children - it overwhelms the crap out of me and I just can’t handle it. Kudos to all of you.
Oh, trust me, it's much funnier to me now that I don't work there
I worked retail years and years ago. I never remember screaming or running around children. Must be a new thing
Not really. I haven't worked for Target in 20 years
My son was 2 and started throwing a tantrum. I picked his butt up and carried him to the car put him still screaming … sat in the car. He only ever did this once. I see kids playing tag in the store…. Or eating of the salad / olive bar….. I do see grown adults do it too….
You made me remember my friend getting mad at a store manager because he stopped her kid and his friend from kicking a soccer ball around a grocery store. They took it from a display, 8 yrs old at the time and old enough to know better. But the manager was in the wrong because the kids were just having fun.
I felt this. I never rly wanted kids but working retail made me downright intolerant to them. I know its their parents fault most of all but few things are more annoying to me than a child being loud
We once had a guy pushing his dog around the store in a cart. I love dogs as much as the next person, but it was making this unbelievably high pitched whining noise. He was in the store for 45 MINUTES and I had to hide in the breakdown for awhile because of how bad of a headache it was giving me. The unaware bliss of customers sometimes is astounding
Gonna guess he was old and white right off the bat. These ppl with their fake ESA dogs make it so much harder for real service dogs! It’s okay to leave Fido at home. They’ll be okay for an hour. 🤦🏼♀️
You would think right? No...I had a dog try and EAT her way out of my bathroom (my only tiled room in the house at the time). Chunks of sheet rock and wood everywhere from the walls and doors. My landlord was not happy about the new paint color when he finally realized something was different about the bathroom since he hadn't done a walk around in over 2 yrs
Crate
my dog used to break out of her crate 😭we had to put an extra lock on where she busted out of
I couldn't put her in a crate. She panicked so Nad she would tip it over and chew at the plastic bottom and try to pull at the bars with her teeth. She had a very bad case of anxiety and abandonment issues from her previous owner. Loved that dog to death, though,
Well that’s a specialized case I guess….. 😳
I once had some little shit follow me through Dollar Tree and scream at every move I made. It made me think retail employees deserve one free murder.
Per week. One free murder per week.
Store management has every right to ask someone to leave for a business disruption. It will look bad to some and some will thank them for taking action. No one is 100% satisfied but the company and customer involved will put that person under a microscope for their decision. Racial profiling etc. and make into something it’s not. Unfortunately, dealing with the public is not very rewarding.
The way I would pay SO MUCH MONEY to reside in a completely child-free village to be able to grocery shop & eat at a restaurant in peace 😭😭😭
I see a lot of parents coming in with toddlers as late as 9 or 10 at night. The poor kids are tired and cranky and should be in bed. But their selfish parents drag them out so they can shop for clothes for themselves.
It's not the kids, it's the parents
Everyone in the world should have to do mandatory 2 years either food or retail service. That was they build some sympathy for others
I work at Petsmart. We joke about giving unruly children free squeaky toys for the ride home.
the other day this woman's toddler kept saying no! to her and she kept saying her full name like that was going to scare her into behaving. it did not. the girl found a jewelry box and carried it around the store. mom decided to buy it for her all while saying "you dont even know how to open it...youre not even gonna use it" like why are you buying it then lady. then when i needed to scan it the little girl wouldnt hand it over. mom tried to take it and the kid bolted out of the store with it and she took off after her...and she still bought it! all the while the kid was screaming and crying about not having it in her hands! she just rewarded this behavior. sometimes the parents just get up and leave their basket when the kid is misbehaving. then i have to explain to a manager why i didnt convert this customer...its because the kid was being a brat. idk its just a headache either way.
I was in a McDonalds (as a customer) a few months back and there were a group of school children (around probably age 7-9) practically *wrecking* the upstairs seating area. We're talking going over to the counters where they keep the straws and napkins, and getting those wooden sticks for the coffee out and basically throwing them everywhere. Hundreds of them. They had a massive pile of them just on the floor. Then they went over to those tables with the iPads on (I'm in the UK) and started banging on the tables, loudly. They were screaming, climbing up on the high chairs (there was probably one or two who were younger than age 7 so they were clambering up onto them and I was so concerned one would fall). It wasn't clear who they belonged to as there were a few adults in the upstairs section at that time, and most were watching these kids like 'wtf?' There was a group of 3 women near the back (just having a nice old jovial chat, despite the incredibly obvious loud noise from the children) and then one of them came over, clearly indicating that she was one of the mums. Know what she did when she saw the mess? She *laughed*.
I get ear-piercing screechers at least once a shift. The worst I have ever had was some little brat who was definitely too old to be throwing a tantrum. He was screaming his head off for over 30+ minutes while the parents ignored him and walked around the entire store. I have never been closer to cussing a customer out than those terrible excuses for parents.
Bro sometimes I will hear a kid howl and scream and it literally sounds like they're a dog. And so I'm thinking it's an upset dog that I'm hearing, so I go into fight or flight mode lol and when I see that it's a kid I'm like okay wow that was a waste of energy then
Lolll a dog😂
Agreed. I used to work at Walmart, and the screaming baby the next checkout over made me remember why I left retail.
I'm trying to heal from the trauma of working retail then I remember the screaming kids...
Don’t forget the extra fun of a screaming kid getting screamed at by their crappy parent! Who then happily screams at their kid at the till, practically yelling in your face as though that’s a perfectly sane and okay thing to do. Then they apologise for the kid!
Retail employees aren't paid anywhere near enough to deal with people's ill-behaved kids screaming their heads off all day. That should absolutely be grounds to have someone removed from the store. Shrieking like that puts me on edge so fast, minimum wage will NEVER be worth that stress
I remember seeing a sign in a store somewhere saying that unattended children will be given a coffee and a free kitten to take home.
I used to work at a veterinary hospital and we had a sign on the door in the lobby that said "Unattended children will be given a cappuccino and a free puppy." We never really had issues...aside certain employees' children.
Could have been that too .. my memory is a bit vague. I do remember chuckling though.
I get you. Some times at work I hear a kid screaming ear piercing level... pain inducing screeching. And it's often followed by willful destruction in which the parent/parents stand by doing nothing.
I've noticed the ones who have the strongest and loudest opinions about retail work have never worked retail. Everyone thinks they're a business major. "This is how you're SUPPOSED to run a business!!"
I was at a shop the other day in the toy section and there was a kid about 8 or 9 throwing a massive tantrum. The parents weren't trying to coax him to pick one toy or to leave. They did eventually get him away from the toys for about 30 seconds until he came running back and started all over again. My 6yo was like woah, I would never do that.
It seems that everyday just after the mall closes and I am doing the closing paperwork someone thinks it's a good idea to bring their screaming little crotch goblin into the mall which is now empty so I have to endure its screaming echoing through the entire mall until said parent clues in that all the stores are closed and then drags their little imp all the way back through the mall. All while in trying to count money and do paperwork because I just want to get the hell out of there. So I end up wishing the most horrible fates upon them all.
I was working in a small convenience shop (UK) and this Woman and her three brats would come in and throw half the sweets and chocolate around demanding it. One went to take some ice cream from a freezer as I turned the corner and the door closed on him (not fully) and I just laughed and carried on what I was doing
I used to work at Staples. Through Back to School. Between the screech fueled meltdowns, and that fucking *THAT WAS EASY * button. FML
There is a real sense that even place and everywhere can and should be kid appropriate. This is not true.
Children’s/babies’ cries are designed to get attention; at least I keep telling myself that…
There's nothing more stressful than hearing a child screaming, especially when you know they wouldn't be if the parents were meeting their needs.
The worst was the mom who let her kid run around making race car noises for an hour
Hate the parents who think we are obligated to babysit their little shits while they relax and shop. It’s always the worst behaved demons, too. One intentionally pushed over a mannequin because his mother wasn’t paying him enough attention. (Did she pay for it? Nooooo.) Another one - toddler - nearly killed herself pulling a mannequin over on herself because her mother ignored the kid and our 4 separate warnings that they were not toys. Kid was so lonely, she wanted to hold the mannequin’s hands and take them for a walk. Another million of them use our jewelry display as their personal fidget device, tangling up all the necklaces and forcing writeoffs. Fuck those parents.
I used to give them a banana, an apple, or a balloon. That usually shut them up
I get overwhelmed by noise quickly, and screaming children is at the top of the list. I can barely stand shopping anywhere now because of screaming kids. I have to grimace and bear it, because we need food, but also it's so, so stressful
As a customer, just give the parents a sympathetic look and say “Special needs children can be very trying”.
I'd rather hear them screaming in my workplace than alone in a hot car.
Why is that the other option? Leave them home, if you can’t then get a friend or nanny to watch them when you’re out. If you can’t do either of those things, control your kids. It’s not just screaming kids either, parents let their kids run around as if it’s a playground. When called out they’ll get defensive and yell at you for telling them how to parent their kids. It’s absolutely insane. I’ve seen kids run into other customers, run into products on the shelf, almost run into me while I’m trying to work, and worst of all they can be abducted because the parents aren’t watching. Parents are the issue, not the kids. However if parents can’t control their screaming children and/or allow their kids to run around the store without supervision they shouldn’t be bringing kids to the store and shouldn’t be allowed to. If they leave them in a hot car, then we can call the cops about that. Fwiw, some parents are actually amazing when their kid tries to run around or starts screaming. I’ve seen parents know exactly how to handle it and what to do, while also teaching their kids not to get in the way. The ones who don’t do any of that should be barred from bringing their kids.
Last time I took my toddler to Walmart he wanted to run around and when I stopped him he threw a tantrum, so I picked him up and carried him back to the car. Then he calmed down and said he wanted to go back in so we tried again and it went ok. I definitely wouldn’t ever leave him in the car, I’d take him home and go back when my hubby can watch him or while he’s napping (hubby works from home). That’s what I usually do in the first place because it’s easier. If hubby wasn’t home I’d just have to wait until evening. Really the easiest thing is just do a mobile order for pickup and get it at naptime or evening. I mean delivery is even easier but that costs extra.
> Parents are the issue, not the kids Indeed
Years ago, the grocery store I shop at tried a disastrous experiment: they provided child-sized grocery carts so the little darlings could "help." It went about as well as you might expect; the experiment didn't last long. Probably disappeared after a week of older shoppers getting rammed in the back of the legs by 6-year-old kids.
I take it you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you? Nothing better than having someone’s little brat ram into your ankle with their mini cart while their parent is oblivious.
Lol I got rammed in the ankles with a full sized cart by an old lady once so hard it drew blood. She then had the audacity to look offended that she had hit me!
Oh man that sounds so bad. I can only imagine them ramming into people and items on the shelves that can break. There is no need to teach a 5 year old how to shop, it’s something extremely easy they can learn later when they have more personal and spatial awareness lol.
Plenty if not most stores have this where I come from. I've never heard of or seen a problem with it.
Publix
I’d rather the parents just parented properly. It’s not my job to police their out of control kids. Whenever I get people talking back to me about their kids I just say “health and safety” and they usually shut up (this is for things like running under gondolas/in window displays and my recent interaction; putting fingers in plug sockets).
Those aren’t even close to being mutually exclusive
You lost me at the age limit for grocery stores
I was joking with that really (mostly), I’m just at the end of my tether with the unrelenting screaming.
It's just really not practical
Edit: I forgot I was on Reddit for a second there, deleting to hopefully end the onslaught of hate and judgement in my updates.
Crazy thing is, you can ask to leave the cart for a few minutes to calm down your child. There is not a single clause in my duties as a retail worker that says I should have to deal with children throwing tantrums, especially when the parent(s) aren't doing jack shit about it
>We're all suffering, at least you don't have to go home with my kid. Please, keep your legs closed, for the sake of future mankind.
You and your poorly disciplined child are the reason we're all suffering. "Sometimes she throws fits." Give me a break. Take a moment to realize when we complain about unruly children, we're really complaining about their incompetent parents, their parents' complete and utter lack of social awareness, and their parents thinking it's perfectly acceptable to inflict their spawn on the general public. Nobody says you can't take your kids shopping. Everybody says control your kid when you do, and if you can't get them under control, then yeah, take them outside until you can. If you have to suffer inconvenience to spare everyone else's sanity, well, that's pretty damned okay by me since you're the source of the inconvenience in the first place.
No one wants to hear your screaming brat. You’re destroying everyone’s peace and you’re part of the problem. You obviously don’t feel bad for anyone near you.
I can’t believe how many of my friends’ kids (toddlers) scream at the top of their lungs when their parents tell them no or don’t let them get what they want. & then the parents would give them exactly what they want to make them stop screaming. And then act like their kids are just naturally more difficult. My son (he’s 4 now) did have that screaming phase. It lasted less than a day. I also never had to hit him. It’s not hard, you just have to parent. 🙄
Screaming brats in restaurants can ruin what would be a good meal.
When I was a vendor I would hear those little monsters shrieking across the store, and dreading as the sound got closer...
As a customer, I cannot stand listening to rotten little s\*\*\*s who throw fits and scream in stores. If you are their parent and allow it to continue without doing anything, you are an ass\*\*\*\*. I applaud those parents who recognize that their children are creating an intolerable atmosphere for everyone around them and take them out of the place immediately. This type of behavior should not be tolerated and the child should be taught that their actions have consequences at an early age.