Page 7 | A policeman in the supermarket ,would you do this?

girlfriend44 · 2026-06-26T12:48:19+00:00

This morning there was a policeman doing some shopping in the supermarket. A family walked past and when the dad noticed the policeman in the aisle he said to his little girl. Look there's a policeman. If your naughty round the supermarket he will take you away to prison. The little girl. Just listened and didn't say anything . He made sure she saw the policeman and as said told her he would take her to prison if she was naughty. The policeman never heard but I did . I was right by them Would you do this? AIBU to think it's a bit odd.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:59

dizzydizzydizzy · 26/06/2026 15:53

Making threats about things that are not going to happen is daft. Children are not daft. They’ll soon realise.

And then they won't believe anything the parents tell them.

movemountains · 26/06/2026 15:58

Kids should be able to see police officers as someone to go to for help, not someone to be afraid of.

This has to be a joke surely? Considering the ridiculous levels of misogyny and racism which even the police admit is a massive institutional issue this is nonsense.

As a woman, I do NOT feel safe with the police and this is based on personal experience with them not some comment made by one of my parents. My teenage boys arent white - there is no way I trust the police.

mydogisthebest · 26/06/2026 15:58

Fairygoblin · 26/06/2026 13:56

Father educating daughter

How the hell if that educating the daughter? Stupid thick dad teaching his daughter to be scared of the police. My what great education that is. Let's hope he is a teacher

MyballsareSandy2015 · 26/06/2026 15:57

Very old school isn’t it …

Additup · 26/06/2026 15:54

JayJayj · 26/06/2026 15:15

Neither does a child being naughty.

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But the word naughty is being used for the child's benefit as it's language they understand. 'Naughty' in an adult sense could be rape and murder, but it's not appropriate to explain to a young child that the police arrest for rape and murder.

dizzydizzydizzy · 26/06/2026 15:53

Making threats about things that are not going to happen is daft. Children are not daft. They’ll soon realise.

paradisecircus · 26/06/2026 15:47

Bit inconsequential.

Whoopiedooo · 26/06/2026 15:45

He was being a dick. Some sorts of adults like to wield power over people they can, and children are an ideal target. She won't respect him for it when she's older.
Although potentially it is also what his own parent did to him.

beefthief · 26/06/2026 15:42

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:30

It really isn't.

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Compelling chat, look forward to doing it again some time

WhatAMarvelousTune · 26/06/2026 15:41

MyCrushWithEyeliner · 26/06/2026 13:57

I don’t think parents should tell their kids another adult is going to tell them off, be it police, shop staff etc

I agree. I’m not a police officer but did used to work in a supermarket and we would occasionally get “if you don’t behave, the lady will tell you off” - generally at the checkouts while the parent was trying to pack the bags and kid was messing around.
What I generally wanted to say was “why don’t you parent your own child”, but just smiled politely instead.

Differentforgirls · 26/06/2026 15:39

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:39

?

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Wrong thread is my guess.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:39

notantordec · 26/06/2026 15:35

I go tomorrow and I have a factor 30 spray and a factor 15 oil.

?

notantordec · 26/06/2026 15:35

I go tomorrow and I have a factor 30 spray and a factor 15 oil.

CombatBarbie · 26/06/2026 15:31

BeSunnyLemonSheep · 26/06/2026 13:54

Yes, it’s odd.

You should not teach your child to fear the police.

This!!!

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:30

beefthief · 26/06/2026 15:26

Yeah

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It really isn't.

CookedToddler · 26/06/2026 15:28

BeSunnyLemonSheep · 26/06/2026 13:54

Yes, it’s odd.

You should not teach your child to fear the police.

This. Teaches children to be scared of them and not go to them for help if they need it, will never say this to mu child

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:28

maxelly · 26/06/2026 15:22

You must be very young OP to have never heard of such a thing or be astounded by it. Used to be very normal parenting practice to scare your kids into behaving in this way. My old dad's pretty much only disciplinary tactic was to threaten to contact some kind of authority figure (police or our headteacher was his go-to, but anyone would do in a pinch, doctor/nurse/security guard/lifeguard/receptionist) and threaten us with arrest, being taken away or some other unspecified 'bad thing' if we didn't behave ourselves. If at home he'd go so far as to pick up the phone and pretend to be actually calling them... It had varying success as a measure, only worked for as long as it took us to figure out that he didn't actually have the power to get us arrested for not eating our dinners but hey ho, didn't cause us any harm in the long run...

Believe it or not that was considered enlightened parenting in the 70s, they themselves had grown up on being smacked or made to stand in the corner or go to bed without dinner similar physical punishments so non specific threats you don't intend to carry through on was a step up. Anyway obviously I don't think you'll find many people today who think it's a great idea or parenting of the year but equally if the little girl wasn't distressed or anything I don't think you need to call social services! Who knows what things that are considered normal today will be looked on with horror by today's generation!

It was not considered enlightened parenting in the 70s. I was born in the 1950s and it wasn't considered enlightened then.

Thechaseison71 · 26/06/2026 15:27

GreenFootstool · 26/06/2026 15:14

Why was your car being stopped? Drugs searches? You weren't being stopped randomly all these times - what was the reason?

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Think the car must've had some kind of marker on it. Was drugs and weapons they searched for. But once they'd done it once I've no idea what the hit on me each time I crossed into Kent.

It stopped after I sold the car. So spending those occasions on treating me like a criminal were unwarranted and certainly not a way to instill faith in the policing system

beefthief · 26/06/2026 15:26

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:13

You think threatening your child with the police is normal?

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Yeah

OtherS · 26/06/2026 15:26

JayJayj · 26/06/2026 15:21

Those things you mentioned are all things I would not say to my daughter. When someone said this to her last year I corrected the adult and said that she would be.

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Yes, I don't think it's good parenting. But I don't think it's odd.

DeftGoldHedgehog · 26/06/2026 15:22

My parents used to say that (or that bobby will tell you off-usually if I was kicking off in the back seat of the car) and I didn't grow up with an undue fear of the police. It's just something parents say and is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things.

maxelly · 26/06/2026 15:22

You must be very young OP to have never heard of such a thing or be astounded by it. Used to be very normal parenting practice to scare your kids into behaving in this way. My old dad's pretty much only disciplinary tactic was to threaten to contact some kind of authority figure (police or our headteacher was his go-to, but anyone would do in a pinch, doctor/nurse/security guard/lifeguard/receptionist) and threaten us with arrest, being taken away or some other unspecified 'bad thing' if we didn't behave ourselves. If at home he'd go so far as to pick up the phone and pretend to be actually calling them... It had varying success as a measure, only worked for as long as it took us to figure out that he didn't actually have the power to get us arrested for not eating our dinners but hey ho, didn't cause us any harm in the long run...

Believe it or not that was considered enlightened parenting in the 70s, they themselves had grown up on being smacked or made to stand in the corner or go to bed without dinner similar physical punishments so non specific threats you don't intend to carry through on was a step up. Anyway obviously I don't think you'll find many people today who think it's a great idea or parenting of the year but equally if the little girl wasn't distressed or anything I don't think you need to call social services! Who knows what things that are considered normal today will be looked on with horror by today's generation!

JayJayj · 26/06/2026 15:21

OtherS · 26/06/2026 15:19

Not great parenting but not really different to telling them Father Christmas won't bring any presents, or the Easter Bunny won't bring any chocolate eggs. We might think that's very mean, but we wouldn't worry they might be teaching the child that Father Christmas and the Easter Bunny are vengeful and cruel, and that it might mean the kid develops fear and loathing of both for the rest of their lives. So equally I don't think this interaction is probably going to convince the little girl that the police are vengeful and cruel, and make her wary of them forevermore either.

Plus I'd personally say all the above are nothing like as bad as telling children they'll burn in hell for all eternity if they say/do/wear the wrong thing, yet we're fine with that! Parents have been threatening dire consequences for unwanted behaviour since time began.

Those things you mentioned are all things I would not say to my daughter. When someone said this to her last year I corrected the adult and said that she would be.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:21

Plus I'd personally say all the above are nothing like as bad as telling children they'll burn in hell for all eternity if they say/do/wear the wrong thing, yet we're fine with that!
Actually, most people are not fine with that.

CaptainMyCaptain · 26/06/2026 15:20

HoppingPavlova · 26/06/2026 14:49

When we were young and mis-behaving, parents would pack us in car and drive us to prison a few suburbs away. Pull up, and tell us we were going in. If it was really heavy duty, someone would get out, talk to prison guard outside and they would come over and ‘have a chat’ about being naughty. Once, when one of us had been REALLY naughty, they got them out of the car and started to frog march them towards the entry. It taught us good lessons and made us behave and built character. Would never happen today as parents are snowflakes let alone kids who are even more brittle.

Bloody hell! That's abuse.