To credit MN for the way I handled this rude woman at the shops?

[Primafacie]

... When I felt a bit hurt, humiliated and angry at her comments?

I had an encounter this morning which up till now I thought only ever happened on Mumsnet :)

I was food shopping (M&S, not that i think it's relevant but so I am not accused of dripfeeding) with my DCs (aged 2 and almost 5). I always park their scooters by the store entrance (on the inside), which itself leads to the inside of a shopping mall, and is guarded by a staff member. We (and the store) are in a very safe, family friendly area.

As I was heading for the tills, DD nearly 5 asked if she could wait for me by the scooters. I said yes, as she is very sensible, I was only going to be a few minutes, and in my own risk assessment, this is not a risky situation.

Two minutes later, I emerge from the queue with my shopping and DS in tow. A woman (I am guessing around 75, again not really relevant but don't want to DF) is talking to the security guard by the door, pointing to DD who is waiting by the scooters. She sees me and says 'is this your child?' Conversation then goes like this:

Me: 'Yes she is'.
Her: 'I really don't think it is advisable to leave your child here, anyone could have kidnapped her'.
Me: Rrright. Well, I disagree,and I think she is perfectly safe here.
Her: but you are wrong. Anyone could have taken her. This is really dangerous.
Me: Well, that's your view. I happen to think we live in a good society and I don't see abductors and paedos everywhere.
Her: but you are wrong, you see. She could have come to harm.
Me: so you have said, several times. Look, I disagree with you, and I am not interested in your views. I didn't ask for your opinion. When I was her age my mum used to send me to the shops on my own. Now please leave me and my kids alone.
Her: Happy new year.
Me: and happy new year to you. Now please can you stop following me?

All this without raising my voice, or stopping smiling :o

All the while she was trying to get the poor security guy roped in to tell me off - to his credit, he never opened his mouth.

Still feeling a bit offended, but meh - hardly the end of the world.

So, thanks MN. Can I get my shiny badge now?

Competitive 'neglect' on MN is hilarious!

A friend of mine (a Tutor) once had a student who had named her son Jack Daniels 'because that's what she was drinking when she conceived'. True story.

Prima, I see your Scrumpy Jack and raise you a Smirnoff Blue - she's a delight , maybe we should get them together?

My dd is called Wkd.

Harold, my mum is the same, and I would probably do similar. The repetition is what would have pissed me off. Fine to check, not fine to keep going on about it when there obviously wasn't a problem.

Precisely.

Oooh, I love Smirnoff, sounds so exotic! Does she like younger men?

Or women?

We're fairly open minded :)

It's classy. Smirmy for short. Love it.

iceclear don't wait for a reply from her.

The internet and twitter are fab tools for getting information out there quickly.

I
However, there is no cast iron assumption that todays technology and awareness of child abduction would prevent something similar happening.

If children would be found within the hour today, why has April Jones never been found?

That argument doesn't really stack up, does it?

Heartbrokenmum, DD was conceived on honeymoon. In the throes of pregnancy hormones I seriously considered 'Mojito' and 'Carmen' (for Playa Del Carmen)

If I grow up, my clothes won't fit.

:(

You the cat, i'm very happy to judge any adult that would give their child alcohol

My mother's name is one of these two!

Very out of character considering the milieu she was born in.

I always thought my GM was secretly quite wild...

You can't be bothered to look after your child properly but you can take the time to write this nonsense? I'd reassess my priorities if I were you.

Excellent post, Marylou.

Well done for saying what we are all thinking.

heartbroken i've heard the 'jack daniels' story a million times. Maybe they were all true

Oh come on. COME ON.

How could anyone possibly compare themselves to anyone who has lost a child in any circumstances???

If something happens to your child because he was alone for however amount of time it was, i would never judge you.
I would feel nothing but concern and sympathy for you & your loss.

The question is that everyone is asking, however small the chance, why even risk it?

If writing nonsense on MN = not looking after your kids then we are all buggered.

I find this very odd. No parent can be perfect, but to knowingly let your dd out of your sight and be proud of it? It seems like you want a medal for taking a risk and not having had it backfire. I'm sure April Jones parents thought she was safe too.

I wouldn't knowingly gamble on my child's safety, do you strap her in the car? Or let her wear a bike without a helmet? I agree that it's statistically unlikely that your dd would come to harm, but why take the risk?

If I saw an unattended child I'd wait with them until their parent had been found.

I agree Marylou. I think that if you post on AIBU you're asking for people's thoughts and are prepared to listen to all viewpoints.

The OP isn't, but she's great at being sarcastic to people who dare to disagree and fill the thread with flippant comments.

I agree her child her rules, but it was a poor decision at best - for non hysterical reasons.

I don't get the horror at giving kids alcohol. My parents gave me watered down wine from age 7ish. It was entirely normal in france. I hated it but gosh it made me feel so grown up and included in adult occasions. It neither poisoned me nor turned me into an alcoholic, in fact as an adult I rarely drink and never to excess. On what grounds then are my parents to be judged, other than a desire to feel self-righteous and smug by the judgee? That kind of judgementalism does make me feel quite smug actually, I'm so glad I don't feel the need to inflict a prissy and irrational moral code on others just to make me feel good.

But calling someone 'insane' is OK is it? Hmmm.