To never leave the house ever again

I’m so sorry you were treated this way - I have two adult daughters and believe me I’ve been there done that - they do obviously grow out of it but at the time it’s never ending
Recently I was in a local supermarket and the checkout area was very busy and amongst it all was a mum in a similar situation to yourself……she was starting to get tearful so whilst there were disapproving looks I went up to her, asked her if she was ok and if she needed help unloading her shopping
She actually cried as she thanked me for being kind as she was feeling overwhelmed and I was the only one not tutting at her! Kindness and a smile (and empathy!) costs nothing and goes a long way to helping someone feel better in what is quite clearly a difficult time

Ok, any other cliches you want to share 😂

Oh do wise up! Bollocks it's "not supportive"! I am the parent of adult children and I am here to tell you, it happens way too fast!!

I was on the other end of this. Violent kid that wasnt reprimanded by the parent running riot and kicking, hitting and being a complete asshole to other kids.

No amount of gentle parenting will fix this, you need to discipline your kid. They smack someone elses kid? You sit them the fuck down and give them a time out.

They throw, smash, be violent? Time out. If you think its something serious, get medical help but belive me, every other parent of every other kid in that room thats playing nice is judging you and wishing you would fuck off with your brat. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

Telling a toddler to have gentle hands and be kind? Nope.....they havent learned how to understand that at a social level yet, they need to be told and disciplined.

Im not for one second advocating violence, but you're mistakenly teaching your kids to be utter bratsby trying to redirect or gentle parent them.

Damnyourheadshoulderskneesandtoes · Today 17:24

So would mine, but books were healthier.

Aw OP I feel so bad for you. All of my kids did this around age 2 and I got the looks from so many people or comments. I hated going out! Now they are 3.5, 6 and 9 and just wind each other up. I've become immune to people's looks. Especially when it comes from middle aged women who forget how difficult parenting is at the time!!

Mine would rather have the sweets BROKEN BRITAIN

It's hard! I used to give mine a drink and a snack, which worked most of the time but not always. I always preferred to go shopping on an even on my own when DH could look after DC, so much easier but not an option for everyone I know. Also, click and collect is good, very cheap and just a drive there and back. Xx

Of all the posts you pick that one to nitpick 🙄

Safeways was brilliant. You could collect points, like nectar points, and one of the things you could redeem your points for was an annual pass to the creche. Mine used to go a couple of times a week for 90 minutes, that was the maximum time you could leave them. Plenty of time for the big shop and maybe a coffee in the cafe. Second visit just a small top up shop and my friend would come, we'd leave the 4 kids in the creche and have more coffee and cake along with a nice quiet chat in the cafe. Refreshed we'd be up for a fun afternoon at the park or swimming or something. The kids loved it and so did I.

Why did it stop?

I hate this kind of comment as it’s not supportive for what’s happening currently and I say this as someone who has much older children. Obviously the op knows her children will grow up 🙄so what’s the point?

I’m laughing at this, I went with my friend who has 3 under 3 to Sainsburys last week. On the way in I commented I couldn’t believe she’d never taken them to the supermarket, we had the two little ones strapped in and the big one in reins. 15 minutes later the baby had stuck his hands in his nappy and wiped it on his face, oldest one had smashed a jar (under my clearly terrible supervision) then the middle one had a tantrum and scratched me so deeply I’m now on antibiotics. Never again!

My friend's 3 year old ran off from the swimming pool changing room (wearing only a towel), managed to exit the pool building and when her mum finally caught her, was standing by the side of their car, across the road from the pool, pleased as punch!

My poor friend. She is a really careful and conscientious person too.

3 year old is now moderately sensible teen.

There are 10 months between my two, younger d*ckheads darling children. They are now 10 and 11.

They would strip off in their pram, climb out, run naked down an aisle, throw socks under cars, shoes under cars, I would have to chase them down the road on the nursery run and stop them ripping up flowers in this beautiful garden in my street (the elderly couple living there thought it was hilarious), I chased them across a road with my leggings around my ankles because they fell down.

However! If you don't laugh, you'll cry!

Here are some retorts to these situations:

What child? said in an eery voice while you float away all wide eyed

What child? This is my cat Lucifer.

The Priest told me not to pick the demon up in case it latches onto my soul. She's going for an exorcism afterwards.

Oh I don't know whose child this is. Came with the trolley.

Well she never picks me up when I'm crying.

....and walk away.

BooBooDoodle · Today 19:46
I'm not sure what's worse: tantrum or silence. One of mine at 30 months slipped his 'lead' and snuck away. He was eventually found in a room behind the furniture department having a kip on a sofa there.

I really feel for you, it's so exhausting at that age, especially if you have a younger one too. My oldest is in his forties but I vividly remember him taking stuff off the shelves in the supermarket and when told off he lay down on the floor and screamed and screamed, kicking out and flailing his arms around. No point me saying anything as he couldn't hear so I picked him up and held him under one arm so he couldn't kick me and went to the checkout. A lady behind me was very sympathetic which nearly made me cry, I was so upset. I walked to the car with him still under my arm, he'd struggled so much he was virtually upside down when I got there, but he'd stopped screaming and then calmed down. In future I just had to pick him up and stick him under one arm and he would calm down much more quickly. He obviously knew I wasn't going to back down or bribe or cajole, or put him down until he was quiet. Obviously it doesn't work for everyone, I didn't try it as a way of quietening him, I just needed to get out of there!

I feel your pain, I stick to having my shopping delivered now and I don’t know why I didnt do it years ago, makes my life so much easier. Please try not to let other people get to you though.

She won't be 2 forever. Trust your parenting instincts.

You might try involving your 2 year old in the shop, instead of distracting her. Get her to say the names of vegetables, pick things off a shelf, etc. and praise her cleverness. Reward her by taking her to where you buy her favourite pram snacks at the end of the shop.

I'm assuming at age 2 you're putting her in a pram with the youngest, because that's the easiest way to transport both of them together?

Could you instead try putting the car seat for 1 year old in a shopping trolly and get the 2 year old to sit in the child seat part of trolly?

If all else fails, get dad to do the shopping or babysit until this stage passes.

Perhaps I am just old fashioned. When my children were pre-school, I would tell them how much money there was to pay for shopping, and if there was any money left over, and they behaved themselves and didn't moan for sweets, they could choose a book for themselves. Every Friday shopping ended with their choosing a book in the book store. They went to school at four, able to read.

You aren’t old fashioned, you just have a convenient memory 👍🏻

Guarantee she was 50+. That generation in my experience tend towards the harsher end of judgemental. They raised kids in the 80s and early 90s when compassionate parenting was abnormal

Someone who is 50 was 14 in 1990 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

It was my friend’s 50th last week and her first child was born in 2009.

Oi I'm 56 and that's tosh. Most people I know around my age are fantastic parents. You see horrible parenting nowadays. And awful grandparents. It's a people thing not a decade thing.
My mum was soft as muck. As was hers.

Ds2, as I said in a previous post, would have tested anyone's patience. But it passed. Just hard whilst it's happening.

I once pretended to be the babysitter, when my daughter threw a tantrum in the supermarket 😂 it didn't stop my daughter having a tantrum, but it stopped people staring,as I exclaimed I'd never babysit her again!

They do grow out of it seriously OP. Now daughter is 23 yrs old and finds screaming children annoying but would never say anything to parents

They are 16 and nearly 18 now, I still remind them of it!

I was ready to walk out of Lidl when my two were fighting over which part of the trolley to hold.
I told them I was going then a lady came up to us and very gently reminded them they had to behave for mummy
We did the rest of the shopping in silence! Bliss😀