To think that this woman should have at least said sorry and offered to pay for broken item.

[Fakebook]

Was in Tesco this morning and looking at their Tupperware because dd loses the lids in school almost everyday. Anyway suddenly there was a massive crash. I looked to the right and a little boy had thrown 3 ceramic bowls on the floor and they had all broken to smithereens. His mother exclaimed "oh noo" and stood and stared at the mess. A customer assistant came and began picking up the mess and then another came and began sweeping.

During this time, the woman didn't even say sorry and calmly carried on browsing with her son lingering behind her like nothing had happened.

AIBU to think she should have apologised profusely and then offered to pay for the bowls that her little angel had just broken? She didn't even tell him off! If my dd had done that I would have done a proper kneeling down, eye contact, stern voice telling off super nanny stylee!

YANBU.

Surprised that so many would not even offer to pay. You break something, you try to put it right. If they don't want you to pay, fine.

I think I have just about recovered from the now Hope... It was probably about 15 years ago!

hopeforever you seem intent on defending the mother in question. was it you?!

I think hopeforever is just being awkward for the sake of being awkward.

Yanbu. She should have apologised.

Just a sidenote, rather than buying a new Tupperware box everyday (it must cost you £500-1000 a year!) Just buy a lunchbox.

Fakebook there is a difference between the boy throwing them off the shelf and them accidentally being knocked off though? And you don't which it was? It might rather later someone's reaction. I walked past some toothbrushes the other day and they ended up on the floor. No idea how as I didn't touch them, they must have been very unstable. I picked them up, and might have said whoops, but didn't apologise.

Just a sidenote, rather than buying a new Tupperware box everyday (it must cost you £500-1000 a year!) Just buy a lunchbox

Yes, or sandwich bags?

Or just train your DS not to lose the lids. Then you wouldn't have to send hundreds of sandwich bags to landfill.

Presumably, JimJams, you didn't apologise as you didn't break them. Unlike the bowls in the OP.

Although actually, the OP said she turned round to look after the crash, so we don't actually know that the child broke them...

Offer to pay Tescos ? You must be kidding!!

Were they the small deep white ceramic bowls?

Oh FFS OP get over yourself. Are you sure you're not a thinly-disguised racist? The most obvious and likely reason for the woman not saying anything would be that she was so utterly mortified she didn't know what to say, and was therefore desperately trying to pretend it hadn't happened.

Also, the fact that you are insisting the child broke the bowls deliberately when you didn't see what happened makes you sound fairly spiteful and quick to jump to conclusions.

Don't you all know that Tesco's is having a bad time financially at the moment. Their shares are down, profit is down,they're cutting staff and staff hours left right and centre, of course she should have insisted she pay..... [sarcastic emoticon]

They don't usually make people pay...but an apology wouldn't go amiss. I am married to a Tesco employee who has to take the brunt of people's rudeness,daily. Just because you work in Tesco, doesn't automatically make you a dimwit, though many people seem to think so.

They could possibly not have had good English.

No I'm not a racist. I'm in an ethnic minority. I've grown up surrounded by Chinese, Pakistani, Indian, Nepalese, African, English and Polish people. The race of the mother and child wasn't mentioned in the OP because it wasn't relevant. What a ridiculous thing to suggest.

The bowls were deep red coloured with white flowery patterns (I think). They were definitely red.

Even if you knock something off by accident, a simple "sorry" doesn't cost money.

The facts seem to be unclear in this specific case. But generally, YABU, if a child breaks something a parent should a) apologise and b) offer to pay. It's just fair play and basic manners, surely? If the company say "no, no, don't worry, these things happen, you don't need to pay" then that's great. But the offer should be made.

You weren't in my local Tescos were you (SW London)? There was an almighty crash in the next aisle to me which would have been kitchenware while I was looking at pillows or summat. Didn't see what the fuss was about though.

oops, I meant YANBU

I think there was a time when people worried about manners in shops but that has long past. These days you're lucky if the customers don't piss in the aisles.

Maybe she did not tell the child off because it wasnt actually the child causing the mess!?

It could have been the mother accidentally breaking them, if you did not see, you would not know. Bowls are not usually placed low down on shelves, they are in adult browsing view?

On a side note, when my 21 month old ran away from me in a shop, and the staff instantly matched lost child with bewildered mum, it would be ridiculous to shout racism, even if we were both blond, in a Bangalore mall. It is just kind of obvious.

I'd be more likely to be aghast if the OP actually saw what happened tbh. I tend to avoid judging anyone tbh unless the facts are very clear as I so often get judged by the daft and judgemental half looking when out with ds1. It's given me an aversion to making assumptions. Without seeing exactly what went on (which the OP clearly didn't) you can't tell whether the mother behaved reasonably or not. I do tend to get irritated by assumptions.

I wound have thanked whoever cleared it up, and found someone to call the cleaning staff if no-one appeared. That's it. I wouldn't necessarily have told my child off - depends how the bowls ended up on the floor.