To be annoyed at staff asking my kid what she wants?

From AI

The etymology of the “99” ice cream (a soft-serve cone with a Cadbury Flake inserted) is somewhat debated, but there are a few leading theories:

1.
Italian Connection Theory (most popular)

This theory ties the name to Italian immigrants who opened ice cream parlours in the UK:

• The number 99 was associated with elite or special things in Italian culture.
• Specifically, in the early 20th century, 99 was the number of an elite guard in the Italian king’s army. Vendors may have adopted it to suggest the treat was of high quality or “special.”

2.
Cadbury Theory

• Cadbury claims to have first used the term “99” for its Flake bar in the 1930s when it began marketing a shorter Flake for ice cream cones.
• The company says the name might have originated from the address of a shop or supplier at 99 Portobello High Street in Edinburgh, which was associated with early sales of the treat.

3.
Price Theory (unlikely but often mentioned)

• Some believe it may have originally cost 99 pence, but this is not supported by historical pricing. The name predates modern UK currency changes (i.e., decimalization in 1971), so this theory is mostly dismissed.

In summary, the Italian connection is the most widely accepted explanation.

No no. They weren't 99p. They were about 20p in an 80s childhood. Honest.

No they weren’t! They were 99s when I was a child pre decimalisation. Sorry.

It's normal to address the child, I actively dislike when the child is treated like furniture.

YANBU. I was extremely pissed off when I'd booked a wet cut for my dd which involved a wash, cut & rough dry. The stylist asked dd (13) if she wanted it straightened & she said yes. I was slapped with an extra £10 at the end. Why can't they just stick.to the service I booked?

That's it in a nutshell.

They were called 99s because they were 99p.

I Thought they still were 😳. Which shows how long it's been since I last had one, but is also making me really want one now. With flake, obvs.

Yes indeed!

Yanbu. Asking a child whether they want something which costs extra money is not ok.

if it’s just a preference such as flavour or topping for an already ordered item or ice in a drink then that’s fine imo.

Not so. They were called that because they were invented at an ice cream parlour at 99 Portobello High Street (in Scotland) and the owner called them after that.

They certainly were not 99p in the 70s/80s when I was a child. I remember them costing about 20p in the late 70s. Even a Cornetto was 'only' 30p when they first came out, hence the playground parody of the O Solo Mio advert - Just one Cornetto/Give it to me/You must be joking/They're 30p.

Get used to it. Your child is getting older and more people will respect that and ask her views or all kinds of things

Afraid this is entirely incorrect.

it has nothing to do with price.

99s date back to the 1930s.

The 99 has to do with the number of guards Italian royalty had, so become synonymous with ‘first class’.

It’s well reported.

I disagree. I really like it when staff speak properly to kids, not just their grown ups! It helps them to become independent individuals. In the grand scheme of things a £1 flake really is not a big deal.

Would you have said no to the flake if he asked you instead?

I can see your point but when shop assistants ask me a question that is aimed at my children I usually then direct them to the child, who can make their own decisions and answer themselves. It's a good way to build their confidence in public settings. I'm talking things like 'do you want sauce?' 'is that with salad?' 'any allergies?' 'what would you like to drink?'.
She should however had said the flake costs extra, my child would then check with me if that's okay.

Oh come on, it’s buying an ice cream. Asking for a flake is bog standard.

Anyone else hearing Melanie Sykes?
"Do yer wanna flake in that, love?"

Boddingtons advert IIRC. showing our age now @LittleGreenDuck 😆

I see kid, I think goat. I was at a friend's earlier and she had four kids (goats). One was only two days old. 😍

I didn't even know you could get an ice cream without a flake!

YANBU, targeting kids is a marketing tactic as old as time.

You just need to get used to asking ‘is it extra?’ every single time.

It is pretty crappy. Totally fair enough to make small talk, ask for flavours, give similar priced options or even mention a deal. Not fair on the child or the parent to try and upsell to a child. Yes, even for £1.

Grates on me to read to ‘my kid’ and ‘the kid’. Makes the child sound like a dog. Just sounds rough. Different when someone uses it in the plural - “the kids were playing up’ or ‘I was making the kids’ tea’
i might get flamed but I don’t care.

Anyone else hearing Melanie Sykes?

"Do yer wanna flake in that, love?"

Have you ever been to build a bear?

Chose bear abd outfit, whilst stood in the stuffing queue staff came over to chat to ds. Would you like your bear to have a growl? Would you like him to have a heartbeat? What about rollerskates? Fortunately ds was only upsold on a growl for £10

It happens when we go for pub meals too - would you like to swap your chips for sweet potato fries? How about onion rings with that?

And then there was the time at trampolining that I gave ds £5 to go and buy a bag of crisis and he came back with 2 plus some sweets because 'the man said I could have 2 crisps and a bag of sweets'. This would not have been ds, he had bought many times before.

YANBU, if its asking about free options then fine but if its more money they should not be offering it.

They shouldn't. How humiliating would it be to have to say to your child you can't afford the extra pound or to make up an excuse that everyone can see straight through anyway?

Because it's not always "only" a pound. Sometimes it's an unexpected extra pound that was earmarked for a pint of milk or a loaf of bread and something was already being sacrificed to give the child even that small treat.