Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to give dd food before paying for it?

735 replies

cantsleep · 29/07/2013 22:20

Went to shops today with dcs. Dd was a bit tired and hungry and I wanted to get in and out quickly and home.

She was very hungry and has health issues and needed to eat that minute so I picked something up and let her have it. I have not done this before but couldn't have gone and paid then given it to her and continued shopping as she needed to eat straight away. Usually I have a snack in my bag for her but she had already had that one and I was going to buy more snack bits for her from the shops to replenish the ones I carry for her.

I noticed that a shop assistant was watching us intently and kept seeing her as we went round the shop.

When we got to the till I took the packet off dd for the man to scan and gave it back to her. As we were leaving the member of staff who had been watching approached us with a security guard and asked had we paid for what dd had eaten round the shop. I replied yes we had but she asked to check the receipt which obviously was fine.

She then told me that in future we HAD to pay for food before consuming it. I explained to her that it was a one off as I had run out of snacks I usually carry and dd needed to eat immediately but the security guard said food has to be paid for first.

It wasn't like I do this all the time and tbh as long as the food is paid for does it really matter?

WIBU to have let dd eat her snack before we had paid for it?

OP posts:
diddl · 30/07/2013 10:50

True about the chips!

Although what I also mean is wandering about eating.

If out & about, we used to find somewhere to sit, or take it back to the car.

Crinkle77 · 30/07/2013 10:51

Sorry but i hate it. If you have a medical condition like diabetes and need to eat fair enough but if you or your children can't exercise restraint when going round the supermarket then there is something wrong. I am sure most people are honest and pay at the till but I bet there are loads more who don't and just shove the empty packet somewhere.

NobodyPutsTomArcherInTheCorner · 30/07/2013 10:51

Well I often think we live in a world of instant gratification. Waiting for anything isn't seen as the default anymore.

BlueStones · 30/07/2013 10:52

Think it depends on the nature of the health issue. Incidentally my diabetic sister always carries something sweet; crisps are not an effective food choice in that circumstance.

BlueStones · 30/07/2013 10:57

Ah, just saw your recent post, OP. Fair enough, if you've found that crisps work for you!

Original poster
cantsleep · 30/07/2013 10:58

Sweet foods are only needed if blood sugar is below 4.0.

Dd was slightly higher than that so she needed a snack not pure sugar (which I had in the form of glucose tablets in her hypo kit). It was just carb based snacks we had run out of.

OP posts:
Original poster
cantsleep · 30/07/2013 11:00

X posted bluestones!

OP posts:
Damnautocorrect · 30/07/2013 11:02

I always used to do it on the big shop straight from school, packet of frazzles to munch on the way round. Or a bit of French bread.
Haven't done it with ds yet as we always shop after eating but when he's at school I probably will.

ilovesooty · 30/07/2013 11:06

So you intend to begin this practice once your son reaches school age, damn?

Its impossible for children to wait until they get home?

LadyBeagleEyes · 30/07/2013 11:09

After the last thread and now this, I'm so tempted to buy one of the hot cooked deliciously smelling chickens next time I'm in a supermarket and merily scoff and slurp it all the way round with greasy fingers and juices running down my chin.
Yum Wink

usualsuspect · 30/07/2013 11:09

It's not impossible,but giving a child a packet of crisps out of a multi pack is hardly the crime of the century.

ilovesooty · 30/07/2013 11:13

It might not be the crime of the century but it shouldn't be necessary in most cases either.

Mitzyme · 30/07/2013 11:16

Be careful! Lady the cooked chickens are very hot, remember to open the bag, delicately, no ripping open etc, so offensive. Oh and remember your face and hand wipes they are a must.

littlemisswise · 30/07/2013 11:17

I've never done it with mine. They are 18&16 now so I am not likely to start now. I don't understand why kids need to be given food all the time.

I can understand why the OP did it, though.

gotthemoononastick · 30/07/2013 11:25

The filthy sticky trolleys I happened on last week end have now been explained.

arethereanyleftatall · 30/07/2013 11:26

Agree with Beagle. This thread, with its judgypants people, has made me very excited for my next supermarket trip where I fully intend to gorge all the way round on all manner of juicy items, making the utmost effort to dribble. Give them something to moan about. I will of course pay at the till.

usualsuspect · 30/07/2013 11:29

Don't forget to shove it into your mouth.

beautifulgirls · 30/07/2013 11:32

Seriously you have to ask? Yes YABU. Buy the food she needs if urgent and then go back and do your shopping. Better still plan properly if your child has health issues that are so absolutely necessary to eat then and there. Personally I see no good reason with proper planning why anyone should be eating in the supermarket before they have paid for the items. Those with shouty kids who want the food NOW and scream and cry...well they demand because they know you will give in.

worldgonecrazy · 30/07/2013 11:38

my first ever naice ham comment

The naice man at the deli counter in Sainsbury's always leaves some of the ham slices and puts them in a separate wrapper for DD, so that she can eat them as she goes around. They have already been weighed. Sometimes the really naice lady just gives her a slice of ham anyway. Of course it's ham carved off the bone - not that pre-formed stuff .....

usualsuspect · 30/07/2013 11:47

Theres often samples of meat/cheese etc for customers to try on the deli counter in Asda.

I scoff these as I wander around.

Mitzyme · 30/07/2013 11:58

YY Sainsburys gets my vote. Asda if I'm nearby.

ProudAS · 30/07/2013 12:22

Why should the OP have to go through the stress of queuing twice in a busy supermarket just because her DD has diabetes and needed to eat quickly?

Shopping with a young child is a pain at the best of times but having to go in, find a snack, queue, pay, give child snack, wait for them to eat it, go through rigmorole of shopping, queing and paying again just because your child has a medical condition is a bit much.

The supermarket must make reasonable adjustments for diabetic customers and allowing them to eat urgently if they need to sounds reasonable to me so long as they pay for the snack.

Prozacbear · 30/07/2013 12:31

I make DS wait, but then, he doesn't have diabetes, just a moderate case of greed.

If a child has diabetes, it's understandable. Not ideal, but then again OP has only done it the once, she's not merrily stuffing percy pigs down her child's throat every day, is she?

TBH the reason I wouldn't do it is because I'd forget to pay. DS has almost nicked things too, before I notice at the last minute (he's 2.5, not a klepto) - a wrapper would stand no chance.

zatyaballerina · 30/07/2013 12:35

I've never heard of a supermarket having a problem with it before, I've done it a couple of times with dd because she was hungry and about to start tantruming, I'm sure most stores prefer parents to do that then let their kids split other customers eardrums open. As long as you pay for it at the till, there shouldn't be an issue and I'd complain with the management that one was made of it.

Damnautocorrect · 30/07/2013 12:39

Ilovesooty,
No he'll be having dinner when we get in, so it will ruin his appetite Wink

I can't see the problem, surely eating them is preferable to the moany 'I'm hungry' whine all the way round, and the constant 'no' that I'll be saying to all the junk he's trying to put in because he's hungry.