to think Waitrose customers are the least child-friendly on earth?

[adelaofblois]

Over the last few months I've been reprimanded there for 'peddling filth' (telling DS that not everyone had a Mummy and a Daddy, some people had just one of two of both); 'letting kids get under people's feet' (someone stood on DS2 and didn't even say sorry), and for 'treating the supermarket like a playground' (DS was entering my PIN, which he can do on his own, the queue was 1 person long). Tonight DS1 (3) had a tantrum about wanting a bacon bun and some old bat got up, grabbed him and told him he was ruining her cup of tea. Why she thought that would help is totally beyond me, just making my partner (who was with him at the time) feel shite by proxy. Evil bint.

Look, I know some of that sounds over indulgent, and that people always feel strongly about what goes on with kids when out-and-about, but why Waitrose only? Am I just unlucky, or are Lidl, Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Booth's, Morrison's folk just much sodding nicer?

But where do you shop, to return to what I was sort of asking (knowing that there would be a whole 'kids in supermarkets, always/never debate and hoping to avoid it)?

Or - here's a thought - maybe ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE CHILDREN should order online or when the kids are in bed???!

Genius - huh?

I think I've solved it. You need never see a horrid snotty child again. And the supermarkets can be swilling knee-deep in toddlers.

Surely, Theinet, you wouldn't mind paying a paltry £3.30 to do your weekly shop from the comfort of your own home?

I will remember to change it when someone kidnaps DS to get at my overdraft facility.

I haven't ever let a child enter my PIN.

But it certainly wouldn't bother me if someone else let their child do it. Their business if the little one shrieked "It's 8665 isn't it Mummy?". None of my beeswax.

Seriously - what skin is it off your nose if someone lets their child/partner/dog use their card?

Problem is OP, if your card ever is fraudulently used you can bet that your bank would use your son knowing the PIN as a reason not to pay you, no matter how unlikely it was that it was your child responsible.

Actually, you are right, there is no way ON EARTH that I would go shopping in the day, when it is full of people (not just children, I am not some kind of child catcher evil being).

"Sainsbury's - lovely. One of the staff made a quilt for DS's 3rd birthday."

Blimey, you are obviously a Very Nice Person. The only reason anyone would make me a quilt would be to suffocate me in it.

theinet - selfish and disorganised? mmmm, wish you were my mum - bet you're a real gem. Suspect a Daily Mail reader has stormed the building, ladies...........

Op, I had a similar experience in Waitrose too when DD who was 4 at the time and was walking ahead of me, just to the side of the trolley. She changed directions (moved to the right) as some twat man came up behind her, and of course, it REALLY inconvenienced him to move quickly to one side, and so we got a very loud "Oh for Gods's sake!"......I was gobsmacked - she just moved, FGS.

I really can't stand the British attitude to children sometimes - it is positively Victorian. You go abroad to some countries, and there is much more family-orientated approach, that understands how children are and it feels so welcoming. It isn't about over-indulging them, or acting like parents have a sense of entitlement - it's about being realistic, understanding and caring.

My DD is generally well-behaved and disciplined accordingly - but she is only 5, FGS, and is still learning how to control her feelings, pick up on social signals/etiquette, and so she should be.

People who can't handle children around for everyday activities should either take some bloody valium as they are evidently highly strung, or at least consider the possibility that they are Victor Meldrews love child.....

theinet

You know you're an idiot don't you?

You know, my kids are quite out there - both have ASD, one has ADHD with lots of the H. I've shopped in Waitrose (when we had one), M&S, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Somerfield (when they existed), fancy food halls, farm shops, little local shops and everything and never, ever had a negative comment made.

LaWeasal, how on earth would the bank know that OPs son knew her pin number-in the event of her card being fraudulently used?!

theinet's clearly one of those 'adventurous' types who's married a lad from wherever she grew up (assuming you're a she!) and has two sets of grandparents close by willing and ready to baby-sit, and maybe a rake of brothers and sisters/in-laws who mysteriously don't work and again, are just sitting there waiting to baby-sit her kids at a moments' notice...

And therefore has no idea how real life works for most people.

Weirdly my DS really enjoys going shopping. I'm waiting until the day I can send him alone.

I think you were just unlucky. Or maybe you only have to take one child. Booths has always been lovely too.

But I do get fucking fed up of the ageism on MN reshapewhiledamp. It's dull and really unacceptable. You wouldn't (presumably I hope) be openly racist, so please don't be ageist. It's no different

ouryve - I don't know, but if you ever read those financial help columns pensioners are always being denied refunds on fraudulent transactions because someone else (trustworthy) knows their pin.

LaWeasel - You've got the wrong person. I never share my PIN with anyone and I'm in the camp that the OP is being irresponsible letter her DC know hers. I certainly could never trust my eldest not to shout out the numbers, anyhow!

letting, not letter.

Why doesn't MN have an edit button?

My experience of British people revving up at kids like this is that the kids have to be doing pretty outrageous stuff (not because Brits are more reasonable but because they would die rather than talk to a stranger.....)

Sounds like the DC are quite irritating, but it doesn't show in other chavvy places :o

Theinet, you are absolutely right, I shall not eat nor feed my children for the next week as DH is away, I have no family arround and friends are very nice but quite often busy enough with their own families. They do not need my shopping on the top. I would not want to appear selfish and take the Dcs to the shop with me though so weetabix and water it is for the next week. Or possibly I should leave them at home on their own while I go shopping in town.

And do not get me strarted on parents taking ther Dcs on holiday with them! How very dare they, especially in places like Venice, God forbid children experience something a bit different than their local playground!

I think that Whatmeworry makes a very pertinent point. Brits do tend to keep themselves to themselves, not interacting with strangers unless necessary and they're protective of their own personal space.

I've been thinking about this and I think supermarket interaction is just one of many places where people are forced into being too close to each other. As far as children are concerned, I think that hysterical parents should take some responsibility for the fact that other people don't want them anywhere nearby for fear of lawsuits, media outrage and, most scary of all, ending up on AIBU....

I think that people truly value their own space and if it's encroached, they don't appreciate it. Children aren't tuned in to that. I used to have it drummed into me and I wouldn't have been allowed to wander off at a supermarket. I think that depending on the time of day, Waitrose is fairly well populated with elderly people, more so than Asda and Tesco, and the expectations are quite different.

ouryve - I didn't say you did, my original post was to the OP, which I clarified when you asked how the bank would know.

I would think most people don't let their kids know their pin!

Just scanned upthread and it was norfolkbroad who asked that question, LaWeasel ;)

Ah sorry!