Do you allow things to be eaten before paying?

[georgousbold]

In a supermarket etc

When I walk around, I do open something to keep DS quiet. Works a treat.

Nobody has ever told me off or questioned me on it

Is this the done thing in the UK? Can think of a few countries it would be allowed in and nobody would say anything

But you could never do that in Japan for example, South Korea either

I regularly took an empty packet of blueberries he checkout when ds1 was a toddler. Otherwise the free fruit in tesco. Sometimes a yogurt pouch.

Nope never done it and I cringe when I see other people do it.

@MonkeyPuddle it's amazing, isn't it.

(If this was a decent website I'd be adding the Gavin and Stacey 'it's the drama, Mick' gif )

No, I would always bring snacks and toys to keep my DS entertained... what if your card got declined ... you would be stealing !
I have only once done it when I needed a bottle of water because o was going to faint , but then I did ask an assistant if it was ok

@Pyri

Yes but *@AHungryCaterpillar*, you can only pull out the receipt if you’ve just bought it. If I had an oaty bar or something for my toddler I could never prove I’d bought it from home, seems easier to just open the box, give them one and then pay for the rest

Or maybe I should bring an MN approved snack, like hummus on brown bread sandwich

Far too many calories. Half a lettuce leaf is all that's allowed as a snack.

@SouperNoodle

Nope never done it and I cringe when I see other people do it.

Oh and I bet they really care when they look over and see you cringing away 🤣

[quote slashlover]@TypicaIMe HTH

www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/18766027.supermarket-habit-illegal-uk/

According to Rachel Adamson, criminal law specialist, snacking while you shop is is against the law.

She told the Liverpool Echo: “While you might have the honest intention to pay for a chocolate bar that you’ve eaten while shopping in a supermarket, it is still technically illegal under section 6 of the Theft Act 1968.

“Buying a product at the till is what transfers the ownership from the product belonging to the shopkeeper, to it belonging to you.

"And only when that sale is complete do you have the legal right to consume or use it.

"If you eat the chocolate before you legally own it, you are permanently depriving the owner of his right to the product – he can no longer refuse you the sale or take the item off the shelves.[/quote]
Yes, that's already been posted by someone who compared the difficulty of securing a prosecution for the parent of a child eating an apple in Sainsbury's to the difficulty of securing a prosecution for rape.

They haven't been back with evidence of any parent being charged with theft, let alone prosecuted for it. Despite being asked several times.

Perhaps you can help with that, too?

@Donra

No I would never give my child something that doesn’t belong to me. It isn’t my property until we’ve paid. But we’d never walk around eating something in public anyway, it’s trashy.

What about food markets ? or ice creams at the beach ? Not trying to be snarkey, am genuinely interested..

@slashlover I don't believe this interpretation of the law would actually stand up, a point I can't prove because, remarkably, as far as I'm aware this has never come to court.

But the author has been selective in their quoting of the Theft act and ignored the important 'dishonest appropriation' section. Now, whilst the prosecution could demonstrate that I did, indeed, permanently deprive Aldi of blueberries, they would have to prove that I did so with dishonest intent. There would also have to be a cause for the permanent deprivation, given that I planned to pay for them at checkout, so Aldi would have to prove that they would, latterly, for some reason, have refused purchase of the, again aforementioned, blueberries. In this way, I believe eating the blueberries continues to not fulfill the legal test for theft, as much as the Liverpool Echo, an otherwise erstwhile publication no doubt, may wish to suggest otherwise.

I would be so delighted to hear other legal interpretations on this pressing issue though

Yes, that's already been posted by someone who compared the difficulty of securing a prosecution for the parent of a child eating an apple in Sainsbury's to the difficulty of securing a prosecution for rape.

They haven't been back with evidence of any parent being charged with theft, let alone prosecuted for it. Despite being asked several times.

Perhaps you can help with that, too?

So it's only illegal is someone has been prosecuted for it?

When my son was little, I'd let him have a few grapes out of the set-price pack I was buying while we went around. Not often but it happened here and there.

@slashlover if something were illegal then yes, I would expect that in our long legal history someone would have been prosecuted for it at some point.

Generally things that are illegal occasionally result in a prosecution. Or at least, an arrest. Can you link me to a case where a parent has been arrested because their child ate a banana before it was paid for?

[quote aylis]@VampireMoney exactly 😂 There’s always someone banging on about how ‘they’ve got to learn’. Well she did, I’m doing this crazy thing of teaching her nuance as well. It would blow minds.[/quote]
😂

I really don’t care about the Legalities. I just don’t think it’s a great habit to teach a kid that they need to eat every time they go round rhe supermarket, and that food is a treat to keep them occupied, or a reward for good behaviour, food is neither of those things.

Well, as the owner of a large and very well known supermarket chain (), I can assure you all that adults and children snacking in our aisles is allowed, nay encouraged, as it tends to cause people to linger longer in our shops, thus purchasing more of our products. Snack at will, kids!

I was brought up to believe that it's stealing till you paid for it. But occasionally my toddler was eating a bit of the end of a baguette. But rarely.

It’s a no from me.

I love how worked up people get on these threads

I have vivid memories of my mum taking me straight to the bakery section of Waitrose as a kid so I could get a smarties cookie and eat it on my way round the shop!

I think the end of a bagette idea is genius in an emergency 🤓
In general though, I don't think it's great for anyone to be grazing mindlessly as they roam/are pushed around anywhere outside. Whether they are tots or adults..
You don't see it in Europe at all ( not where I live anyway )

No personally because I think you make a rod for your own back just handing out snacks on demand just because they see them they want them . They learn to wait I’ve let them choose for after I’ve paid and they learnt to wait . If you can’t get round the supermarket without eating something wrong .

If you take your toddler to a toy shop then do you open the boxes to allow them to play with things before paying?

@slashlover

If you take your toddler to a toy shop then do you open the boxes to allow them to play with things before paying?

Oh come on 🤣🙈

@slashlover

If you take your toddler to a toy shop then do you open the boxes to allow them to play with things before paying?

Flipping heck.

I used to take mine to toys r us before it shut to build all the Lego sets.. shame it shut

Ds loves our local toy shop. It’s a toy shop, it’s set up to be enjoyed by children. Has toys garden cars and and race track on the floor, table and chairs with Lego on to play with, and staff there to encourage playing. Bubbles, kites, musical floor…