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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

if your child wets themselves...

22 replies

ImNotDancing · 09/05/2016 08:38

on the floor of a shop that you should at least offer to help clear it up rather than stand and watch two employees do so...

I had no idea that a child could pee so much!!

OP posts:

FutureGadgetsLab · 09/05/2016 08:39

Maybe the mother feels embarrassed and doesn't know what to do. Sometimes in awkward situations I blank like that.

Original poster

ImNotDancing · 09/05/2016 08:42

she sent the little girl up to us to apologise and then carried on shopping!!

OP posts:

Tessticklesyourfancy · 09/05/2016 08:42

Definitely should offer to clean up. I was having my hair cut when a girl wet herself, mum just said why didn't you say you neede a wee? That was it, no offer to clean up

TooGood2BeFalse · 09/05/2016 08:45

By some miracle, my son has never had an accident in a shop, but I would without a doubt ask for a mop and bleach to clear it up - I absolutely would not expect anyone else to clear up my child's wee.

However, I do think embarrassment might feature for some. I have seen a woman with her little girl run away from a puddle that the little girl did in a Homebase-type shop. The mum looked stressed, close to tears and knackered. I didn't say anything to them as they quickly left but I did tell staff as I was worried someone would slip on it.

Anovelsolution · 09/05/2016 08:45

Dc1 did this to me a couple of times it is an embarrassing situation for both the parent and the child. One time he just couldn't stop and my first concern was getting my child calm and clean... the floor was sorted before I got a chance to help.

HazelBite · 09/05/2016 08:49

Sorry when I was potty training they had to wear pull ups if we we out or at other peoples houses, unfortunately my friend didn't feel the same way and I didn't appreciate the effect her daughters wee had on my wool carpet

Original poster

ImNotDancing · 09/05/2016 08:49

i totally get that it can be embarrasing and my first reaction was to ask if she wanted to take the little girl into our staff toilets to sort her out, she didn't and seemed completely unfazed tbh

OP posts:

Ameliablue · 09/05/2016 08:54

If a customer cleaned up themselves, it would probably be a makeshift job with toilet paper, far better for staff to come with proper cleaning equipment and while I might offer any cleaning in shops is generally done by staff so in most cases staff say no. (obviously don't have masses of experience to go on, my dd had an accident once and staff said they would deal with it, and when I have worked in shops, staff deal with anything like this).

Anovelsolution · 09/05/2016 09:01

She didn't even take care of the child's needs?! That is more concerning to me than the fact she didn't offer to help clean up the floor!!

EDisFunny · 09/05/2016 09:07

I used to work in a M&S and the policy was that it had to be staff to do the clean up, we could not allow the customer to do it.

It's more important for the parent to take care of the child in any case; I can't believe she would keep on shopping.

MyNewBearTotoro · 09/05/2016 09:19

Thankfully this hasn't happened to me yet although DD (2.9) is recently potty trained and does have occasional accidents.

Whilst on paper I agree parents should offer to help in practice I imagine it wouldn't really be possible. Most parents will rightly be firstly concerned with getting their DC changed and dry and they won't have suitable cleaning products. Of course they could be leant a bucket/ mop/ disinfectant etc (which the staff would have to prepare anyway) but if I was out shopping on my own with DC I wouldn't really feel happy about trying to keep DD safe in the shop whilst I'm mopping up with bleach.

To be honest a small child's we is fairly innocuous (I've taught nursery/ reception so plenty of experience cleaning it up in my own line of work!) and as long as the right precautions are in place there shouldn't be an infection risk to staff.

ohtheholidays · 09/05/2016 09:20

Of course you should at least offer to clean up.
I know people can get embarrassed(we have 5DC and 2 of our DC are disabled and autistic) but it doesn't sound like the parent in this case was.Carrying on shopping,not seeing to your own poor child that is now wet or offering to help clean up the mess does not sound like embarrassment,it sounds more like don't give a damn to me.

Janeymoo50 · 09/05/2016 09:23

I'd offer to help, comfort my child and say sorry. More than likely the'd refuse help (and what would I use anyway).

Original poster

ImNotDancing · 09/05/2016 09:24

our clean up attempts were pretty makeshift tbh haha i used half a roll of loo roll and two carrier bags while my manager mopped

OP posts:

unlucky83 · 09/05/2016 09:33

My DD1 threw up in Woolworths - I stood and watch two employees clean it up...but was apologising like mad. I think it was I was too shocked and horrified to actually do anything bar repeatedly say sorry.
(DD had been playing up, being difficult before - bored - so when she said she felt poorly I didn't really believe her )
I did take in a box of roses and a card the next week as a thank you -so you never know...
DD2 threw up spectacularly in KFC - it was quiet and she walked the length of the counter towards me throwing up ...3 tills worth. I did offer to help but the assistant told me not to...she'd got gloves, disinfectant etc. I meant to take a thank you in but didn't get time/round to it for weeks (it was a bit out of the way) and then felt too awkward but I really should have done .

ILovePies · 09/05/2016 11:08

DS once wet himself in Argos, I quickly wiped it up with a wet wipe, informed them of it, apologised then ran off to sort out DS!
Thought it would be pretty standard to at least offer!

NannawifeofBaldr · 09/05/2016 11:13

It only happened once to us in a restaurant. I had started cleaning up while my DH took child off to get changed, when the lovely waitress bustled up with blue roll and disinfectant and shooed me out the way.

"It's my job" she said "don't worry, happens all the time". I was mortified and she was soooo nice about it. We left her a huge tip and didn't go back for 6 months.

Housemum · 09/05/2016 11:20

Most places would want their own cleaner to sort it, but I would still offer to help first and would definitely make sure I had found a member of staff rather than leave a puddle and run.

ThreeBecomeFour · 09/05/2016 11:27

This happened to me recently in a tile shop. My recently potty trained son wet himself. I was pretty embarrassed about it so I offered to clean it up and was given paper towels to use. (I was very impressed with the tiles he wet on - they cleaned up beautifully! ). Sadly we've had a few very public accidents but we've always cleaned him and the area up and tried to hide our red faces lol

Cressandra · 09/05/2016 11:39

Yes she should offer, or at least apologise profusely, but we don't all react perfectly at all times. It's also important to get the child sorted. A very wet child can be a more urgent problem than a wet floor, especially if upset and mortified. I don't think I'd leave my wet child standing there (possibly creating another puddle because she should be on a loo NOW!) to take over floor cleaning from 2 competent adults.

AdrenalineFudge · 09/05/2016 11:43

I think the mother should at the very least have offered to clean up. There's another thread at the moment about the rude behaviour of customers to retail staff. This seems quite minor on the face of it but I agree that you're not being unreasonable.

SnookieSnooks · 09/05/2016 14:48

Dd1 weed on floor in Waitrose. This was shortly after I had asked a member of staff to use their loo. They told me I had to go to public loo over the road.... So I had to pay and by the time I'd done that, DD could no longer wait. I left staff to wipe up.... Sainsbury's let us use the staff loo....

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