I went out today to get a few bits and bobs and ended up in a Primark. Got to the lifts and saw a woman waiting with a pushchair and on it was hanging a school bag. Looked to her side and she had a school aged child with her who was visibly ill, shivering, moaning. I assumed she'd picked him up from school and was dropping by on way home, but then realised school bag was from a school other side of town.
We went up together and the boy was whimpering now and looked really bad. The mother didn't seem to notice/care.
So I was walking around and the tanoy went off asking for a store cleaner to go to "area bla bla bla" for a clean up. Didn't really take any notice until I walked to the other side of the shop and the same woman was standing there with a now crying baby in pushchair and crying/ shivering child who had been sick all over the shop floor. There were splatters of pink sick on clothes, the mirrors, it was disgusting and she was stood there on the phone to someone and was telling the boy off.
I don't know about anyone else, but when my children get ill and shiver like that with fever, the last thing I'd do is traipse them across town. I'd give them a hug and put them in bed and hold their head if they were being sick. Goodness knows vomiting is draining even for an adult.
I felt so angry for the poor boy. So I walked up to her and said "instead of bringing him to the shops from school, you should've taken him home to bed. I'd take him straight home and give the poor thing a hug".
I think she was more shocked than anything.
DH thinks I wbu and is shocked I'd say that to someone. I don't think I am. Also, I now feel sick and think I have his germs.
MNHQ have commented on this thread
AIBU?
To have told a woman to take her shivering child home to bed in Primark
BigRedBall · 05/11/2014 17:55
That's brave of you! But you're right. I could never drag a sick, suffering child around running errands when they should be at home in bed.
Nice for the cleaner to have to clean up the (probably contagious) vomit as well.
I hope the clothes weren't swiftly wiped and put back on sale 
Poor kid 
There is nothing - NOTHING - that can justify dragging a sick child round the shops like that, then telling them off when they've hrown up in public.
Priorities anyone?
YANBU
Poor mite. Thanks for saying what everyone else was thinking!!! 
Wow OP I bet you made her feel really great and enabled her to effectively manage that sick child 
YABU. In fact you were rude and made assumptions about a situation you knew nothing about. I wouldn't take a sick child walking about Primark personally and yes he needed to be in bed - but his mother had made another choice. Was that because she was some sort of sadist hating Primark? No, I doubt that. I think she made that choice for reasons that felt right to her (and they may indeed have been selfish, feckless reasons). She ended up with sick on her shoes, two distressed kids, public embarrassment and to top it all some woman telling her what to do. I think we can deduce from all of this she knows she made a mistake. Do you think you really needed to berate her? I don't.
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I'm still thinking about the boy which is why I've posted here.
worra why would he ask for something specifically from Primark and then cry and whimper in the shop? .
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