Toddler in shops stories thread to make me feel better?

[Sorryfellowshoppers]

Feel like worst mum and shopper ever. DD happy and had a lovely morning so thought we'd nip in to Next on way back to pick up a parcel preordered online as it's often quiet about now and can't really go alone at the moment as DH at work late evenings and weekends. In hindsight I should have rethought as while happy we are just trialling dropping daytime nap and I think she's in between stages and maybe still needs it (she's only 2 but doesn't seem ready for sleep until 9.30 if she naps and I thought trying without might be better for her) and in hindsight likely was tired

We got in and joined queue at wrong end, I knew it was usually the other end of the counters but as there were three ahead already queuing it felt appropriate to join them rather than start a new queue on other side. Except unfortunately some people did so it meant our queue had to join their's and got longer. All started out well but by now six in queue and one check out person and it was just one of those days where each person's purchases/returns took a while and DD got progressively more upset, kept trying to bolt for it, lay on floor, crawled about and eventually screamed and all I could do really was clutch on to prevent her running. It's so unlike her so I think she was knackered and bored.

Everyone was looking at me as wondering why I'd bring a child to shops and I was wondering why I did too! Person behind had a baby who started crying and I was worried we'd woken them up. I'm pregnant too and felt like everyone thinking why would I have another when I'm hopeless with the first! Then when we got to till I said hello and blurted out my parcel number mid running after escapee DD and assistant seemed cross and said hang on her machine was loading but I'd have to wait a second longer, I hope she didn't think I was rude but was just managing logistics! I said thank you etc and was smiling but of course being masked didn't come across. Anyway parcel retrieved and everyone seemed relieved we were on our way out

No actual harm done just a lot of noise but I felt dreadful and rude

I know it's been done before but if anyone has any recent stories perhaps of toddlers getting up to worse I'll feel less of a terrible mum and citizen in general!

Normally we have a lovely shop experience if we go but it's the first time since pandemic so probably all a bit strange for DD.

@TeapotCollection

Not really bad behaviour but in Boots a couple of years ago a woman was buying some anti wrinkle cream. Toddler shouted “Grandma what’s that for?” woman said it was to get rid of the lines on her face. Toddler said “It doesn’t work Grandma does it?”

That's a toddler who'll go far in life.

Been there, done that, bought the t shirt! And DD11 can still be a nightmare in shops now! I had to walk out of Co op the other day because we were having a full on row about why she couldn’t have a reduced cheesecake slice with wheat in it ( she’s gluten free). I got several sympathetic glances & a couple of disapproving ones! Felt like saying “ Try walking in my shoes before you judge”! But most people don’t judge or just aren’t interested in anyone else’s doings thank goodness!

When I was 2 I bit my newborn brother in a shop. My mum saw red and forgot where she was and ran up and bit me, then realised everyone was looking at her.

Not a toddler story, tho I have plenty of those too, but I was walking across a supermarket car park with DD7 a few years ago. She'd been vile all day and was very keen not to come to shops and kept back chatting and I just saw red, hot down on her level, hands on shoulders and shouted at her and gave her a gentle shake, looked up and two women were sitting open mouthed in their car.

Honestly OP, I think it feels like people are looking and judging but most have been where you are! Don't take it to heart x

It probably doesnt help either that at the moment shopping is so different- 2m spaces and masks. Everyone is more stressed, hot and you cant see expressions as well. It doesnt sounds that bad.

I took dd to go outdoors with my brother to pick up a few bits. She turned into some feenzied feral monster!! Running up and down the bridge for trying walking shoes, ina and out of tents. We could hear giggling and the more we tried to chase her the more fun she seemed to think it was. She then stood pointing at the very expensive bikes saying "my bike I'll ride this one".
At which point big 6 foot db picked her up to carry her to the checkouts. Except he is used to rugby balls not toddlers so she did the octopus arms and distraction by trying to tickle his face and ended up with a camping kettle and a pair of socks in each arm by the time we had rushed to the check out.
God knows what it is about some shops they go crazy.b and q is another one

In John Lewis changing room trying on bras. DS pipes up loud enough for everyone to hear " you've got big boobies mummy! Grandma's got little boobies! Sam (his little friend) doesn't have boobies. He's got a willy. Daddy has a REALLY BIG willy!".

It was shop mannequins for DS when he was younger; he was like a moth to a flame and couldn’t resist fiddling with them if he got the chance. He pulled the arm of one in H&M, and restyled the wig on another in M&S (and was caught and told off by a very annoyed shop assistant. I was getting DD to try on plimsolls and hadn’t noticed). He was way beyond toddler age!

I remember standing in checkout queue in Bhs around Christmas time so it was very busy and they had all their gift stuff out on display. DD who was 2 was getting increasingly bored and restless suddenly shouts BALL at the top of her voice so everyone turns around in time for her to duck under the barrier, lift up a ceramic football shaped money box and ‘bounce’ it on the floor - except it didn’t bounce - just smashed everywhere. Cue DD wailing at the top of her lungs, me going beetroot and apologetic and the already stressed staff giving me murderous looks.

When dd2 was about 5 (she has SEN) we were in the coop. I positioned her buggy so she couldn't grab anything off the shelf while I chose something for dinner. The older woman next to me yelped as dd2 pinched her bum, really going for the loose flowy trousers she was wearing as she bent over the chill section . The worse thing was the woman said she was disappointed as she thought it was a man and had been flattered .

quirkychick, DS1 did something very similar when he was about 18m old!

I put him in the trolley seat whilst I browsed the clothing section on ASDA. This was during the time that very low cut jeans and thongs were all the rage. He leant over out of the seat and 'twanged' a poor woman's thong, hard, as she bent down to get something from a low rack ! She stood up and whirled around, looking like she was about to punch whoever did it... Only to find DS, giggling and saying 'Hiya!' She did see the funny side, thank goodness.

@potter5

My 5 year old son and me in the Co Op back in the eighties. Well known local lady only had one leg and was on wooden crutches. Son was looking at toys (it was nearly Christmas). I turned around to look at something on shelf. When I turned back he had his head up her skirt and asked her "where's your other leg lady?". I was mortified and couldn't apologise enough! She was very nice about it though.

'where's your other leg lady' That is brilliant (although I appreciate it wasn't at the time!)

More of a bad Mummy story really. My DD aged about 4 particularly liked visiting the supermarket toilets. Some shopping trips like three times in the hour or less that we were there, sometimes a drop or two came out, you get the idea. It drove me mad, once they actually put my shopping away whilst we were gone! On one of these occasions we'd finished the shopping, I'm unloading on to the belt. Having been to the supermarket toilet some 20 minutes before my little darling declared that she needed to go for a wee. I decided in my wisdom to call her bluff so I said go on then do a wee there in the trolley. So she did, a huge one all through the seat and onto the floor. What was I thinking??? The shame is still with me. She was delighted with herself!

I think we’ve all been there

I remember DD1 chucking herself on the floor in Sainsbury’s because I wouldn’t buy her one of the Ice Age movies on DVD - we already had it at home. She knocked the whole cardboard DVD display stand over, DVDs went everywhere

DD1 again, popped into our tiny, little craft shop, parked her buggy out of the way (so I thought), bought what I needed and left. Got home, got her out of her buggy to an absolute avalanche of packets of stickers that she’d been nicking and stashing behind her the whole time I was in there. Had to return them - with her crying “ssssttttiiiiiiiiccckeerrrrsss” the whole way

DD2, wouldn’t leave softplay, chucked the most enormous strop so I picked her up and walked out - with her crying hysterically shouting “help me, help me”. I wanted the ground to swallow me up.

Ds1 was an angel,you could bring him anywhere.

Not so much ds2.He was an awful robber.If it wasnt nailed down,he took it.

My most memorable one of him was we where in M&S.Turned my back for a second,ds2 vanished.

Now this M&S backed out in to a shopping centre so wasnt too bad.Security guard,seen him running out and told me.Found him and he had the biggest box of Macadamia nuts they sold,so brought him and the nuts back in.

My DD when she was about that age had a huge tantrum one day in the shops because I wouldn't buy her a massive hula hoop. She had refused to go in the buggy that day too, it was a smallish shopping centre and I only needed a couple of things so I went with it and clipped the backpack reins on instead. Cue the hula hoop tantrum, and me having to drag her back to the car on the reins while she was wailing and thrashing like a demon child and I tried to juggle both her and the shopping bags.

Both my dc were huge tantrummers in their early years and especially in shops when they couldn't get what they wanted. When I was hugely pregnant, doing a last shop before I gave birth I took dd3 with me and she wanted pink toilet roll and I didn't. In retrospect I should have probably given in but I didn't see where it was heading and it was the most almighty tantrum, screeching and flinging herself around while I was going through the till with a huge shop. In the end I had to put her under one arm, flailing around like crazy, while I pushed the trolley back to the car. No one offered to help - maybe because they thought they might get hurt, I don't know...

Ds3 on a crowded cross channel ferry wanted a ridiculously expensive toy from the shop (stupid to take him in there, I know) and had such a huge tantrum he managed to set off a fire extinguisher with his flailing around, tried to bite my ankles as I tried to get near him and finally just sobbed in a heap until I could finally get to him. Both dc are now grown up and very lovely adult people. I can't believe we ever went through that with them.

Just realised it sounds as if I have 6 dc, I just meant they were each 3 years old at the time!

DD2 took the opportunity for a game of hide &seek. I could hear the giggling but couldn't find her anywhere. Another customer found her under a clothes rail, completely surrounded by dresses.

DS did a similar thing. It was in a small branch of Millets and the clothes rails were absolutely rammed, once he was behind the clothes you really couldn't see him. I was probably distracted by trying to manoeuvre DD in the buggy in this cramped shop.

Another customer, totally unknowing, pulled the hangers apart to get a better look at the things DS was hiding behind. He thought it was me and did his very best dinosaur "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHR" at her.

She nearly fainted on the spot while I considered whether I would get away with just denying he was mine.

Generally my three boys were great. Apart from the time in meadowhell when ds1 legged it out of the Warner brothers shop and got almost to the exit for the tram. Luckily the fantastic staff alerted security and this enormous guard scooped him up as he was legging it past. Of course he shouted “help help strange man”
And when we were in the Metrocentre waiting for the lift. Which was packed. But ds2 saw the door closing and slipped dhs hand and darted into the back between peoples legs. Dh darted up the stairs leaving me watching ds ascend waving at everyone.
They are all still alive.

Apparently when I was about 3, mum took her eyes off me in the supermarket and I threw a tin of something at another shopper. (thankfully it missed her...)

My oldest nephew got my questioned by the police.

We were in the Metro center and my sister needed to nip into one of the shops which was quite busy. I offered to stay outside with said nephew (who was about two but was also going through a terrible separation anxiety phase.)

Well as soon as she left he started screaming mammy and help in the most heartbroken way. Didn't want anything to do with me - kept pushing me away and trying to run into the shop. I literally had to wrap my arms around him with him flailing like I was trying kill him. People were walking past staring.

The next thing I know there's two police officers looming over me, asking loads of questions. Luckily I had enough photos on my phone to prove I was his auntie and my sister returned in time to vouch for me too.

Absolutely awful.

This is all making me feel much better! When you are in the midst of one of those moments in the store, it feels like you are the only one in the world going through it. Like OP describes, the most frustrating experiences are those which in theory should involve 'popping in' and completing an errand, then circumstances conspire to turn it into an utter debacle. I remember standing in line at the post office with my 2 youngest, becoming more nervous with each moment as I knew I was on borrowed time in terms of their good behaviour and not knowing when one of them would go off the deep end.

The little buggers know EXACTLY what they're doing when they are screaming "NO. YOU'RE HURTING MEEEEEEEE".

After telling you all about DS1's thing twanging, I remembered a time DS2 mortified me in a shop too!

In IKEA, DS was clearly over stimulated and overtired, so he decided to be a PITA and start climbing in furniture. I pulled him down off a chair and he cheerfully yelled, 'HELP! HELP! Get me away from this murderer!' at the top of his lungs. It felt like the entire shop went silent and everyone turned round with a worried look on their faces (clearly thinking argh, a child is being kidnapped! Must intervene!). I had to plaster a grin on my face and say' Nice try, son.' very loudly, so I wasn't tackled and arrested.

I don't take my children to IKEA any more, no matter how much they beg (why do they think its the most exciting shop ever?).

Twins. When they were young toddlers, i failed to appreciate that they aren't in the middle of the trolley like they would be with a single baby, and therefore their arms reach a lot further. I was browsing when one of them grabbed a bottle of alcohol and dropped it on the floor. Another time they didn't want to sit in the seat of the trolley, i didn't know that and they both had the most ridiculous screaming tantrum ever all the way round the supermarket. I had 5 different people come up and offer their commiserations and give me a few words of support and encouragement. That's unprecedented. I nearly lost my mind that day. I'm not sure i didn't!

@QuestionableMouse

My oldest nephew got my questioned by the police.

We were in the Metro center and my sister needed to nip into one of the shops which was quite busy. I offered to stay outside with said nephew (who was about two but was also going through a terrible separation anxiety phase.)

Well as soon as she left he started screaming mammy and help in the most heartbroken way. Didn't want anything to do with me - kept pushing me away and trying to run into the shop. I literally had to wrap my arms around him with him flailing like I was trying kill him. People were walking past staring.

The next thing I know there's two police officers looming over me, asking loads of questions. Luckily I had enough photos on my phone to prove I was his auntie and my sister returned in time to vouch for me too.

Absolutely awful.

At least the police asked, my brother screamed "HELP KIDNAP!" at my dad (he was 9 and just being a PITA!) and nobody even bothered to glance over...