cardboard fixture fell on my son while shopping

[shminkie]

I visited a matalan store on 10th Feb with my almost 2 year old son and my mother. My son loves exploring his world right now and I'm happy to let him under my watchful eye. He was doing his usual 'taking things off prongs for mummy to put back' when he tried to take some socks off one of their cardboard display units. As a store planner and shop fitter, it never occurred to me that the fixture would be unsecured, especially placed so close to the children's department. I was therefore horrified when the 4 foot, front heavy fixture with eye threatening prongs fell covering my son. I settled my son who was thankfully ok, but thought that it needed reporting to duty manager. After paying for my goods I asked to speak with someone. A young lady arrived and I explained what had happened and was utterly astonished at her response. There was no concern, no apology. She just said 'well he must have pulled on it' I replied yes he had, as he explored, as he should be able to without the fixture falling onto him. She then told me 'that's why our trolleys have child seats in them, we recommend you keep them in a trolley.' I was utterly enraged with the 'well it's his fault or your fault' attitude. This attitude has been repeated by their own h and s dept and by my local council. I simply cannot believe that this is OK?! That because these are temporary fixtures and because he was not injured I should accept the vouchers they offered and shut up!? I have asked them to donate them to charity as i do not plan to revisit while my sons safety cannot be guaranteed. Please let me know your thoughts, or knowledge of other incidents/ways I can report it. Either way, watch your little ones in matalan, as ease of sock management comes before your child's safety.

Here's an idea.
As a 'store planner and shop fitter' why not create a 'shop' play area for your ds in your own home. Then you can be absolutely certain that every fixture is safe and your ds can explore his shop world to his hearts content with no risk of falling cardboard or eye threatening prongs. You also save money as you don't have to buy anything in the shop or spend petrol having to travel there.

Bollocks! That is all

YABU.

Letting a 2 year old pull things off racks and displays? YAdefinitelyBU

Not much more to say.

I wonder how many sites the op has hawked her story to, trying to drum up some OUTRAGE? Perhaps that's why it's been 2 months.

I'm with ya sista! It's a fecking travesty, what a scummy hellhole Matalan is, if I were you I'd stick to John Lewis. TBH I don't know what the world is coming to when you can't let you PFB play the 'taking the things of prongs for Mummy to put back' safely ..... It's not like the olden days, bring back Woolworths I say.

Letting a 2 year old "explore" in a shop. Letting him play with the stock, and then getting stroppy with the shop because you let him play in a shop. No wonder when you go to places you see signs reminding parents that their children are their responsibility. Good grief.

Brilliant!

This has inspired me to compose a little ditty :

She was in Matalan one day
When some cardboard began to sway
Her boy was grabbing some socks
And everything began to rock

It gave her a nasty scare
But the assistant just didn’t care
She didn’t really want to engage
Made the mum go into a rage

She didn’t know what to do
So visited AIBU
But no sympathy was to be had
Now she’s flounced and we’re all sad

LIZS - I am not sure why the face - someone said that the OP showed similarities to the potty in Peter Jones poster - they weren't saying she was the potty in Peter Jones poster - well, that's not how I read it. I am baffled as to why you see a problem here - please take pity and unbaffle me.

Really?

I idly wondered if there might be a connection or if mn just attracts such pfb posters?

I have a [sadface] picture in a newspaper. It's my greatest achievement. Go tell your story. The headline could be something like: Shocked Parent Discovers Matalan-d Isn't Fun-land.

I also loved your descriptive writing on the fixture. Eye threatening prongs, remarkable description. Shame you didn't notice how eye threatening they were until your poor DS pulled them down. They are a total hazard for kids even without added kinetic horror.

I used to injure myself all the time changing stock and wall fixtures. Some of them could slice off your hand in you weren't careful- all metallic pointy edges, and all the poky bits always seem to manage to... well... poke your bits.

daisy

Adios OP.

This thread is hilarious.

Honestly op, get better control of your toddler. Shops are not for exploring.

I reckon you're one of those parents who let their child unpack the trolley at a very busy checkout, loudly parenting about each individual vegetable and how you'll enjoy Cous Cous for supper.

Schminkie - if you either a) supervised your child properly and didn't let him run amok explore his world in shops or b) didn't come onto mumsnet, expecting sympathetic soothing when your lack of supervision led to an accident, we wouldn't have to mind our manners.

Although, for the record, I think people have been pretty polite, considering that you basically came here saying "Wah, wah, wah, I let my son play pull a shop display on himself because I am an indulgent parent who thinks my child pulling things off shop displays is clever and fun, not bad parenting, and no-one will tell me that it was the shop's fault and not mine, when it absolutely was my fault".

We could have been a lot more blunt.

I see, LIZS - thank you. My bafflement is back down to normal levels.

Obviously I missed a trick when mine were younger.

I had 2 lively boys close age gap. Think of the vouchers I could have had from all the shops if I hadn't kept them in either the trolley or the twin buggy.

Luckily Internet shopping has taken off since my sons were explorers. Useful if I was flouncing out of all the shops that might have given me vouchers in return for the pleasure of my children wrecking their displays.

I think my favourite part is " eye threatening prongs"

Sorry this was pages ago but LOL

My favorite part is: 'well it's his fault or your fault' attitude. This attitude has been repeated by their own h and s dept and by my local council.

So OP has not only complained at the store but wrote to their corporate H&S Department and to her local council. Priceless in itself but wait...

She then thought it would be a good idea to come to MN and write her first post on AIBU on this subject.

< weeps >

I'm not being funny but shops and there displays are not there for children to Go exploring!. A just because it's close or is the children's department, doesn't mean it's a children's play ground. And tbh I thought it was commen sense that those cardboard displays are not secured to the floor or have heavy weights in them. Wow just wow

Love it. Trolls because op hasnt got the answer she wanted. Typical.
Your child got hurt because you weren't responsible.
Letting him pull apart displays? Bet shops love you!
So happy the manager actually told you the truth.
You've complained to their h&s and to the council who have said you were in the wrong yet you still wont accept that it would have been avoided had you been watching your child.

And can I add that the child wasn't actually two- he was nearly two. Which makes him being allowed to run around and pull things even more ridiculous.

Well MY little Johnny was in tescos cafe the other day being all fab and explory when, much to my amusement and pride, he put his hands all in the curry of the man sitting next to us. Old grumpy arse started to complain telling me to supervise my child, manager gets up on my grill about it too, all the while Johnny is just being a normal curious toddler. What is wrong with some people? Why any they see that the world revolves around meeeee and my offspring??