to think that this woman was a cow

[PrettyHairClips]

I was sitting in the Morrisons cafe today with my two toddlers (living the high-life over a kids fish fingers and mash). A few tables away there was a screaming preschooler in the full throws of a tantrum and her very worn-out, bewildered looking mother. This poor mum tried every trick in the book to get her child to calm down: distraction, ignoring, firmly telling off.

This went on for 10 minutes or so.

Then a woman at a nearby table, got up, put her coat on, then said loudly to me as she walked out, "I can't take any more of this screaming" (she was beaming a smug smirk as she said it, then rolled here eyes and walked off).

wtf is up with people?

What is wrong with cow?

It might only be 10 minutes of screaming but the staff who work there have to listen to 'only ten minutes' of screaming all day.

I don't see why,if you go to Morrisons cafe, you should have to listen to ten minutes of a screamer any more than you would in the Ritz. If it's obvious the child won't be placated then I would leave (if it was my child) I wouldn't expect others to put up with it.

Jamie would you call a man a cow?

No I'd call him a tosser.

In the grand scheme of insults, cow is not bad. I actually quite like cows.

I take your point, though

Actually

Male-related word to insult a man

Female-related insult for a woman

That makes sense doesn't it (just thinking out loud here).

Where it all falls down is if the worst insult for either sex is female genitalia.
Which it is.

I don't really get what you mean in the first bit.

I don't think it's that bad that the worst insult is "cunt". It's not like we don't use "dick" and "cock" as well. We also use "twat" which is about on the same level, so I don't see "cunt" as misogynistic.

FromEsme

Sorry, did not explain very well. I don't see the problem with calling a woman a cow because I'd call a man a tosser.

I see cunt as much more aggressive and insulting, but then I grew up in the 70s when it was much less prevalent.

Anyhoo, I imagine anyone reading this little departure is rolling their eyes

They prob are, you're right!

I have a problem with any gender-specific insult or word.

tictoc - you used to do what in Wimpy in the 80's?

OP - YANBU, whatever about whether the mother should have removed the child, the woman who left did not need to make the remark she did, particularly when she didn't have the courage to say it directly to the parent involved.

If my kids were doing that, I'd leave after about 5 mins.

YANBU. She didn't need to be so rude, and it's no fun to be stuck with a screaming toddler or baby. Yes, ten minutes is a long time to listen to a tantrumming or screaming child, but ten minutes feels like an eternity when it's your own. DD always used to start screaming as soon as I joined the checkout queue in Tesco. Did my head in, and probably the other customers, but tough basically. Out of my control.

JamieandtheMagicTorch Agree with you about other people's children not bothering me as much as my own. I was out with my brother and DS a few months ago, screaming child somewhere nearby. Brother doesn't have kids and seemed a little irritated by it. I just looked at him, said languidly, "I don't care, it's not mine." and enjoyed my food.

It depends where the screaming is taking place. On a bus there's nowhere for the mum to take away the child, or if you're somewhere essential like a doctor's surgery where you need to stay to wait for an app, but a cafe isn't an essential place to be and you can easily remove the child so there's really no need to subject your fellow diners to that.

Um, maybe leaving a cafe is fine if it's before you've ordered and paid for your food, but I doubt many people would be happy about up and leaving after they have.

YANBU, she was being a cow. So mean and unnecessary to make someone who is already struggling feel even worse.

We are all annoyed by screaming toddlers, including our own but the adult thing to do is suck it up.

That's what I was thinking, Mackem If the eye-rollers are going to stump up for a refund if Mummy slinks away with her bawling toddler, they need to say so. Kid was probably hacked off waiting for her food.

I wish people would be more tolerant of tantrum mind toddlers. Yes it's horrible to listen to but think of the poor mum trying desperately to shut the child up while getting more embarrassed cos everyone is judging her.
My ds is a screamer, he doesn't cry he goes straight from happy to ear piercing screaming. One time was trying to buy him welly boots in m and s and he was excited about getting them. As soon as I picked boots up to take to till he screamed, I had to half carry and half drag a heavy kicking toddler to the till. A lady turned round and started talking to him about his lovely welly boots. He shut up instantly. I was so grateful. Instead of judging and walking away, maybe we could start helping? A simple distraction from a stranger might shut 'the little brat' up quicker than any cajoling from mum eh?

Tantrum mind toddlers in my first sentence. Stupid ipad.

You cannot imagine the looks and comments you get when you have an older looking child kicking off due to SN. Have had people saying .'shut up child' to DD and someone saying loudly 'it's the parents fault'. Must feel bad if you have an NT toddler too, so YANBU the woman should have kept her mouth shut and people in general should think before commenting on others parenting. Also they might get more than they bargained for, after the 100th cats bum face or comment of the day one does feel inclined to fly off the handle.

You are spot on by the way, domestic, much appreciated