Poundland made my 9 year old wait outside the shop..aibu to think it's out of order?

[pointlesss]

Popped into Poundland after school with my daughter.
They have 1 till on and the other side is self service.
Got to the checkout and the lady stops us and says "are you both together? "
I said yes
Then she reply's "I'm sorry but only 1 person allowed at checkout due to social distancing.
There was a queue of a few behind but nobody to our side of us.
So she said unless one of us went outside the store she was unable to serve me.
My daughter waited just outside the front door.
Aibu to think that's ridiculous?
Bare in mind no social distancing in any of the aisles,people walking all over the shop.
Yet my daughter couldn't stand next to me whilst I paid and packed my bag.

Poundland don’t refuse to serve nine year olds. They refuse to serve two people together.

Anyone in a shop who isn’t planning to buy anything and hasn’t got any money on them has ‘no financial status.’

Alternatively you could have let your 9 year old pay and wait outside yourself for those who think it's terrible or unsafe

@MintyMabel yes that isn’t what happened but if they have a rule if only one family member it was more of a joke what would happen with people with younger kids. Where is the line?

These rules cannot apply to children, that's ridiculous. No way would I be separated from my child.

I would have told her not to be so ridiculous. Shops can't have a policy that discriminates against parents with children or disabled people who may need a carer with them.

I wouldn't send a child outside on their own. I would have told her to serve me or bring her manager over to do it.

What law are the shop assistants enforcing.

Shops can have their own policies in addition to the law. And “one person at the checkout” is completely reasonable in the vast majority of cases. A child in year 5 or 6 would usually be capable of standing by a door in sight of the mother for a couple of minutes. For younger children or those who have particular needs accommodations should be made though.

Daily Mail - sad face. Shame them.

@Goldenbear

Not really soupdragon, a person which is what a 9 year old has to stand outside in the cold and dark as to they have no financial status - does this apply to other groups have no financial status.

It absolutely is ridiculous because they would have made an adult stand outside too.

Next time anyone complains about a teacher bashing thread I am going to direct them to this as an example of how MN talks about retail workers.

@pointlesss

Was it dark? a lot of posters hear assuming a Poundland after school in the UK it would have been pitch black outside.

I honestly pity the children of adults who refer to asking them to wait away from them as ‘treating them like lesser beings’. Get. A. Grip. A 9 year old is not in danger, unless the danger is of being coddled to the point of spoilt by their parents

Also - just to ask again - does no one take their kid out and ever go to the toilet on their own? For example, if you’re female and they’re male? Or is it different because you’re not being asked to do that?

Why would they be worried about having a child at the checkout? We keep being told children don't spread Covid which is why school staff are perfectly safe.

If you're paying by card you can't really let your 9yo do the transaction.

Some shops are being a bit funny atm. Some are being stunningly amazing. I wish the amazing ones which are usually independents the best of luck.

I'm a single mum of primary aged DC. Even in the height of original lockdown I had no option other than to bring them with me. No one ever suggested they couldn't stay with me at the til. So are we now saying if you're a single parent you can't go shopping at all?

@Halliehallie9828

I wouldn’t of made my laughed for outside in the dark. Ridiculous suggestion. Poundland could of kept there stuff, miserable cow. I went in the pound shop today and my daughter didn’t have to wait outside so she was probably just being thick and not getting the rules.

you sound vile!

Absolute jobs worth!!!

Many high street chains employ mystery shoppers (ie spies) and the checkout person (likely on minimum wage) could be sacked for failing to enforce health and safety protocol. She could also be ECV herself. It’s easy to call someone a jobs worth but far harder to risk your ability to feed your kids for the sake of a stranger.

I just despair of the world right now! What is this attitude doing to our kids? It’s like that creepy scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang when the royal family and courtiers are scared at the sight of children. Utterly ridiculous, the world needs to get a grip and wake up.

I am sick of all this hand wringing about kids having to do certain things in shops. They are humans, they carry the virus, they need to adhere to rules. Don't take the kid shopping with you if you are going to be offended.

Jobworths are having an absolute field day with all these pointless restrictions.

Of course kids can spread Covid. My nephew got it and his whole class had to be sent home as a consequence.

Children are in schools because of the importance of education, not because they are safe and you can’t catch Covid.

@LynetteScavo

Why would they be worried about having a child at the checkout? We keep being told children don't spread Covid which is why school staff are perfectly safe.

If you're paying by card you can't really let your 9yo do the transaction.

Some shops are being a bit funny atm. Some are being stunningly amazing. I wish the amazing ones which are usually independents the best of luck.

i think people are worried its the schools and school kids who are spreading this....another lockdown hasn't come from nowhere, people are maybe thinking about the source of increased infections

@MagicSummer have you thought about applying to become a Corvid Marshall?

@Georgeoftheinternet should be law? Heard it all now, if you want totalitarian laws, please move to the Middle East. We like our freedom here.

I wish I was a corvid Marshall. I love wildlife.

Far better than people constantly ignoring social distancing requests just because I work in retail. I have spent most of the day walking backwards away from people who won’t follow the 2 metre rule.

I wouldn’t leave my 9 year old outside on a dark night

This was a high street shop sometime after 3pm. Not a field at midnight.

There are some bonkers posts on this thread, I think it's fair to assume that by "after school" shopping the OP doesn't mean that she waited until it was dark to pop to Poundland, why are so many saying the child had to wait outside the shop in the dark?

Some of you must be in a state of permanent high dungeon, surely normal people wouldn't give a second thought to a child being asked by the door in the current situation, it must be exhausting, how do you manage to get through the day?