WIBU to ask a child in Aldi to stop kicking a football?

[clary]

Just that really.

It was Friday night, usual narrow Aldi aisles, fairly busy. Kid aged about 8-10 yrs, had a football which he was kicking up and down. Didn't hit me but almost.

I asked him to stop. He looked at me blankly (he spoke English as I had heard him talking to his mum earlier) . So I said can you stop kicking the football, if your mum won't tell you, I will.

Then I carried on shopping, panicking in case the mum ran after me shouting the odds (she had not been there when I spoke to him) She didn't.

But was I ok to speak up? Or should I have just shut up and let him get on with it? It's so hard isn't it. FWIW I'm not even sure if he stopped!

You were fine to speak to him. Really the shop staff should have done so. Football in a supermarket now.

I ask them to get down from the packing shelf (nicely). Especially if they are running up and down on it.

I personally wouldn't of spoken to the child, unless he did kick it directly at me. I would of spoken to a member of staff as I see it as their responsibility to get him to stop not mine.

I did similar in Dealz (Irish Poundland) before when a cheeky little shit of about 7 or 8 almost knocked over an elderly lady.
I gave him my evil eye (scares my nieces shitless) as I hissed "It's NOT a playground!"
He looked at me in horror as the security guard appeared and ordered him out of the shop.
I love that security guard. He's the only one I know that won't take any shit.
Last Xmas they moved him to Aldi for a couple of weeks. There were no skirmishes over the turkey in there I can tell you!

YANBU. I'm surprised you are asking although I'm sure others will tell you it's not your place blah, blah, blah...

No you were fine.

I am sick to death of parents allowing thier kids to run riot in shops these days and i have no compunction in telling them to stop doing something dangerous these days. Dammed if i am being hit by balls, scooters or kids weaving around me on 'wheelies' its ridiculous.

But then i have been known to wind my car window down when picking kids up from school and telling kids who drop litter right outside my car that "I think you dropped something"😀 especially when they are getting in the car in front! Just have no patience with badly behaved kids these days especially when thier parents dont give 2.

I was once in a clothes shop where 2 children were running around the isles and through the clothes racks chasing each other , one little shit of the children twice ran straight into me, I very loudly said 'do these children actually belong to anybody?!' Everyone look round and then across at the parents (clearly they were pissing of the much more polite customers too) the parents called the children over and they all left the shop. I bloody hate the "they're just children being children" brigade. There's a time and a place for playing chase/football... shops, and while I'm on it, restaurants/pubs , are not it!

So in short you were definitely NBU and I would have done the same!

As the mum of an almost 9 year old boy i would of done the same if he carried on assuming the ball was not still store property i would of popped it.

YANBU at all. Well done OP. To PPs who have written would OF, it's would HAVE. HAVE. HAVE.

@missmouse101 I just had to read my post again then but I'm safe!

'If more people were proactive like you there would probably be a whole lot less children playing with football/riding scooters/on roller skates in supermarkets.'

Well said. Good for you for speaking up OP

'To PPs who have written would OF, it's would HAVE. HAVE. HAVE.'

Also well said

Sorry elastic! All fine! Just trying to start a revolution and rid the world of 'would of/should of/could of'....!

I bet other shoppers were glad you spoke up!

I like to think I would do it, but not sure if I would have the guts.

YANBU. If DS had done this and I hadn't seen I'd have no problem with someone else telling him to stop. Of course you can't kick a football around the supermarket.

@missmouse101 I’m with you on this too.

If someone is saying they should of gone to the shop, I always say to them but if you HAVE gone then you wouldn’t say ‘I of gone to the shop’
You’d say ‘I have gone to the shop’

And breathe.

Well done OP for speaking up. I detest this in shops, cafes etc.

@BiggFactHunt my version of this is 'I have, I haven't, I should have, I could have, but I haven't'

@trebless it’s would have....not would of.

YANBU op.

Oooooops I believe someone has pointed this out already.

I should HAVE read the full thread.

@missmouse101, I think I love you!
Twice here in the past week I've mentioned that 'it's HAVE people not OF', and I don't think it went down too well.

Thanks all, good to know you would have done the same :)

YANBU. I told a kid to stop dribbling a basketball in a shop last week, the thud-thud-thud was intolerable in an echo-y shop.

Definitely ok to speak up (but you shouldn't have had to)!

I really to despair some days at the behaviour I see unchallenged.

I totally get how hard it can be with children at times, one d mine has ASD and has no impulse control, but we keep on top of the behaviour!

I was stuck behind a wee girl on an electric ride on unicorn in lidl the other week. Her DM is a loud parenting advocate. I abandoned my basket and went to aldi.