AIBU to be fed up with screaming children in the supermarket?

We go shopping near my parents at the weekend - in their Waitrose. They screech there too. I didn’t know if wasn’t allowed. Sorry.

My child loves nothing better than to hurtle around the supermarket screeching. He saves if up for the supermarket. He’s perfectly well behaved, then he lets rip.

I’ve tried online shopping and our only shop nearby is Tesco and their site is so hard to use. Whenever I go onto the home page you have to hunt high and low to find where to book a delivery. Then you get the food and it all goes off pretty much immediately, you’ve got endless carrots because you said 3 carrots and they sent you 3 bags of carrots, and they gave you coffee beans instead of ground coffee, thinking that was a fair substitute and that ham that looked a lot is actually only 2 slices and you haven’t got enough for packed lunches. It’s just waaayyy to stressful.

So we have a screeching child in a supermarket. Not my idea of fun either if that’s any consolation but food has to be bought.

I agree it does depend where you shop, i do the main weekly shop in Aldi, ive had to start wearing headphones, the screeching kids were making me really stressed. I'm not talking about tantrums, I mesn screeching just for the sake of it.
I do a top up shop in Waitrose - what a difference! No screeching and no headphones needed. Same in M&S, in fact i rarely see kids in our M&S foodhall 🤔

I think this is a bit unfair. My son (now 15 months) used to shriek when in the trolley. Sometimes excitement sometimes through overstimulation. I would always try to entertain him but if I let him I’d get dirty looks and if I picked him up and cuddled him I’d sometimes get a comment about giving into him or similar. Parents can’t win.

Anyway, he started walking confidently at 9 months so I started doing a click and collect

I took my toddler into a little Waitrose earlier and she was wreaking havoc up and down the aisles, laughing and playing around. I hope it ruined some miserable witches day x

Shop in Waitrose. The children don't scream in there.

I have to pop into an Asda sometimes and it's a completely different experience there. Some of the adults are as bad as the children!

(Asdas in other parts of the country might be different perhaps, but my local one, next to a Waitrose is hideous)

A kid having a tantrum is one thing mum or dad don't like it either.
Kids being allowed to run about etc is not on lots of hazards for customers and kids alike.

Might work with an older child but not with a 2.5 year old who’s mid-tantrum and couldn’t give two shits about consequences

Personally I get down to their level and tell them to pack it in immediately or there will be consequences. My kids do pack it in because they know that I am serious when I say that. Its called disciplining your children.

Some parents are a bit pathetic and like to bleat that there's nothing they can do. Yes there is. They just can't be arsed or are too wet to follow through when they threaten something, so their kids know it's an empty threat.

I just read the post where someone said headphones..: OMG I forgot completely that I used to wear headphones in the supermarket and honestly it made the whole experience just so much better. I’m going to start doing this again.. put on some chill out type music and just wander around not having to listen to all the supermarket noises!

When my children used to tantrum. I would pretend to walk off. Right I'm I off take a few steps and they are suddenly at your side.

I did used to like it if a stranger said something like what's all that noise your making. Child gos silent 😆

YABU it’s a supermarket. In and out. I was on one the other day and the kids were running up and down the aisles

If being in a shop with loud children for 5 minutes makes you need to drink, maybe you should examine your relationship with alcohol.

Me neither - the scooters are more of a problem in mine.....

Why?

OP it sounds like you’re massively exaggerating. 15? Really?! In one 5 min shopping trip.
Find that hard to believe.

And parents weren’t bothered? What not 1?
Plus how do you know they weren’t bothered.

I mean don't have a drink because of 5 minutes of noise, you should try hearing playground racket

You need to shop in Waitrose , no screaming kids and a nice calm environment.

Exactly this.

There was only one screamer when I was there earlier.

But it was a supermarket not a library so I wasn’t bothered.

What should parents do? Well at the bare minimum if they are 2+ they should be telling them to be quiet, it may not make any difference but parents should be trying to get their children to be quiet. Before anyone says Sen, both of mine have Sen and I dealt with extreme tantrums but they weren’t just left to cry, they were told to be quiet and if all else fails taken outside

I nipped into Asda on Sunday and there was two wee girls whizzing about on scooters INSIDE the shop! What on earth makes parents think that’s ok?

I used to get irritated when shopping in the evening after 9pm and there would be 2 adults with child(ren) and the kids would be kicking off 🤬

I was enjoying my child free time!

YABVU. Nobody wants to drag their kid to a supermarket but needs must. You were a screaming child once I’m sure…

Yep.

We need our kids in supermarkets, restaurants and among the general population.

Think it’s sad some kids think food comes from deliveroo and veg comes in squares from a plastic bag.