to think that things in your supermarket trolley aren't yours until you have paid for them

[jandymaccomesback]

This morning in Tesco we kept passing a womanwith a child in a trolley. We first saw her in fruit and veg, as she peeled a banana and handed it to the child. Next time we saw her the child was eating from a packet of cheese strings. Finally we saw her opening a carton of juice. All of these things came off the shelf. DH was so enraged he wanted to tell the staff, but I persuaded him not to. To me this is wrong, even if you intend to pay,and definitely gives a message to the child that she can help herslf. AIBU?

morloth I'm not English. I still think it looks common.

And the aggression continues. It's hysterical :o

Like I said, don't give a flying fuck. It's is pointless shit. But anti eaters have been called control freaks and told to get a grip. All I've asked for is one decent reason why you deem it necessary and no one has been able to provide one other than "because I can". Carry on.

Thanks spiderslegs, I have spent my whole life hoping that one day, someone, somewhere, would think I was bizarre.

You have made my Sunday.

On a more serious note (and I haven't read all the posts since I posted last night in a slightly flippant fashion).....I have four children, and spent many years trailing round supermarkets, etc with them stocking up the kitchen. Nowadays I now and then have one or several of my five grandchildren. I haven't ever had to feed any of them them while going round. Now I do understand about ladies in a preggers state perhaps requiring a wee something if they feel a little bit squeamish of unsteady, but children? They receive, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc either at home or at school/nursery, etc. Do your children actually spend all day munching and grazing?

I'm puzzled.

And it still looks common. Where I live it's only the neds who do this kind of thing, I understand, but they shop at Asda. I don't.

of unsteady should, of course be 'or unsteady'. Should have spellchecked....

I think its common.

Which is why I do it.

Cos I am common.

Its my birthright.

Like redbull for breakfast.

'Because I can' is pretty much all I need as far as justification goes.

I have never heard 'common' outside of the UK. It is hilarious.

So do people actually take food that they have bought on previous trips to the supermarket back to the supermarket in order to avoid doing it? (Just for the people saying to take something from home, not the total noneaters).

I can imagine the reaction of staff at the supermarket I go to when confronted with a man who was enraged by a toddler snacking. There would be lots of backing away, nodding and smiling I think.

I didnt think you were allowed to eat in shops???

YABtotallyU! The staff in supermarkets dont care! As long as you pay there are no rules to say you cannot do this.

Sometimes me and DH get to Tescos to realise we're hungry. We dont want to shop on an empty stomach so we buy some sandwiches, notify security that we've paid (who always look shocked and a bit irritated that we bothered) and then munch on our way around. But whilst I was pregnant I regularly snacked on the way around because my blood sugars would suddenly drop and Id pass out. What would you prefer OP? That I collapsed on the floor or ate a banana?
And my mother (Who was the manager of Asda's at the time) let us eat things from the trolley if we were really hungry, just made sure she put the packaging aside to be paid for later.

Quite frankly its none of yours or your DH's business, and that he became "... so enraged he wanted to tell the staff..." says something about anger issues.

If someone gets upset because they think this looks common then I'd have great delight in scoffing a whole family size bag of own brand cheese squiggles in front of them.

Anyone that gets their knickers in a twist about something so banal deserves to be goaded in this way quite frankly.

We don't need to give you a good reason why we feed our children from the trolley, GML - the reasons are myriad, and you haven't given one good reason why we shouldn't do it.

It's not illegal, supermarkets tolerate it, and the fact that you think it's immoral or common or a sign of lack of moral fibre is, frankly, irrelevant.

So you stay up on your high horse. I prefer it down with the plebs, raiding the bread aisle of the supermarket for something to feed the children while I push the trolley serenely for an hour.

I found it a very useful opportunity to teach delayed gratification

Sarahlundsredjumper actually my DH loves children and is very good with them, and probably wouldn't mind distracting them, but you can be sure if he started doing that with strange children in a Supermarket he'd be accused of being a Paedophile before you could say "CRB check".

dh always say we should weigh the kids on the way in so we know how much to pay for all the grapes they eat

I don't walk to my local supermarket. It's almost ten miles away, and, fit as I am, I'm not into twenty mile round trips on foot to get the groceries. However, I do take great pleasure in driving up there in my Range Rover , and filling it full of goodies to take home and enjoy in a peaceful and civilised environment with my family.

Maisie I'm not upset because I think it looks common - I just think it looks common. No upset-ness about it. I don't know where you got the idea it upsets me. These are merely my thoughts. I do however feel a teensy bit sad for the person who said it saved them feeding their children when they got home. How sad - don't you enjoy family mealtimes then?

By the way, you do all take things awfully seriously, don't you? There's nothing whatsoever wrong with Asda, just that it's not the closest supermarket to me. The closest is Tesco, so that's the one I use. No doubt if Asda were closer, I'd use that. Of course, I'd check with management that no plebs were around before I entered. I couldn't be seen rubbing shoulders with the hoi polloi, now could I?

Actually, I don't really give a stuff what people do in the supermarket, as long as it doesn't harm me or mine. However, I do think it's a valuable lesson for children to learn to wait till an appropriate time to eat or drink, and to understand that anything that's in the trolley can't be consumed or used until they've paid the nice lady at the checkout. I do always buy my grandchildren a drink, snack, or whatever if they come along on a shopping trip with me. However, they wait till we're in the car to enjoy it. I often did the same with my own children. Just my preference.

When DD was at this stage we shopped at waitrose .

rubyrubyruby I have a little picnic table and chairs in the boot that I whip out on such occasions! Naturally I carry tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, etc at all times. Doesn't everybody?

Lol HenriettaFarthinghay sounds just like my mil, except she would have had doilies as well

Never mind the children - is there anything more glorious than the smell of a hot chicken, fresh from the rotisserie? I just know that one day my willpower will cave in and I'll have nothing more than a carcass to present at the checkout.