Woman having a go at children in shop

[Funatunsh]

2 children were in the store and I'm guessing they were being a bit hyper as they were buying some sweets. They were about 11.
However, I was quite uncomfortable with the way the children were spoken to by other customers.

It started off with the security guard asking the children where their parents were to which the girl explained she was with her friend (she seemed quite intimidated), the security guard thne started raising his voice at her about how her mum should not let her in the shop on her own and next time her mum must be with her.

Her friend then came from the checkouts after buying sweets and an elderly lady came up to both children and pointed her finger at them saying "I can't even bring my husband to shop with me yet here you two are in the shop together"

I understand the security guard warning the children if they were misbehaving or whatever but AIBU to think the elderly lady should not have got involved with two children who already looked quite shell shocked?
Covid rules are reducing now what with indoor restaurants and pubs opening that I couldn't believe the woman had a go at 2 children over the fact she doesn't bring her husband shopping with her

[bruffin]

@EmpressSuiko

I’m really surprised a security guard would e pact an adult to escort an 11 year old, surely most 11 year olds are capable of popping into a shop alone especially if with a friend.
I used to go to the shops alone all the time in primary and secondary, we’d buy snacks before going to school or head to the shops during our lunch breaks to get some lunch.

Suspect it was more in a way of
"If you cant behave by yourself, then you need a parent with you"

[MichelleScarn]

Suspect it was more in a way of
"If you cant behave by yourself, then you need a parent with you"

Agree with this.

[VeganVeal]

@Flaxmeadow

I’d have told the old lady to fuck off

This is what's going wrong. No respect whatsoever

Exactly right. I fear for the future

[Dontforgetyourbrolly]

Kids playing up in a shop being told to calm down by staff OK
Random customer spouting covid nonsense Not OK

[SquishySquirmy]

Poor kids.
Hopefully they were able to shrug it off, but some kids can be shy at this age (I was, and at that age was so plagued with self doubt and low self esteem that I would probably have dwelled on it for a while after.)

Some people are so mean and lacking in empathy towards kids.

So they were giggling? God forbid a child look anything other than miserable and sombre at all times in public!
Who on earth would object to them having a small moment of normality and fun after such a year? Miserable fuckers, that's who.

(BTW Not all older ladies are "terrified", as a pp implied). Its an ageist excuse. Some are just miserable bullies, just as some younger people are miserable bullies!

[hparkins]

security guard sounds like he was is on a power trip. some people do this when in a position of authority of any kind.

the woman sounds like an asshole too.

you will find that neither of these people would ever dare try to bully a big burly man.

as for respecting your elderly - this is an old fashioned phrase that is up there with children should be seen and not heard. its bullshit - you earn respect regardless of your age.

[newnortherner111]

Two well behaved children being together I would agree with far more than two adults, unless one of the adults has a disability that means they need assistance.

[Jellybabiesforbreakfast]

Kids need to learn independence and self-reliance. I was an incredibly shy child and I remember getting to the grand old age of 17 without having ever been allowed or forced to do much for myself. I'm ashamed to say that having to take the train by myself to university interviews and speak up and fend for myself around strangers was a bit of an ordeal. I was an extreme case but surely it's better to encourage independence from an early age even if it's just two pre-teens going to the shop by themselves.

Covid has limited what young people have been able to do and has made children unwelcome in the public sphere. We need to reverse this. Whenever we buy my 3yo a treat or order a meal for him, I make him ask the shop assistant or waiter for what he wants himself rather than ordering for him. How are our children going to learn about appropriate social interactions in everyday life if we take away their opportunities to practice?

[Bluntness100]

Elderly people get scared and feel vulnerable sometimes and we all need to respect that in our neighbourhoods

Can’t stomach this attitude. So do kids get scared and feel vulnerable and adults should know better than to randomly have a go at kids.

She was just some busy body having a go. Just becayse she’s elderly doesn’t give her thr right.

[looptheloopinahulahoop]

[quote Funatunsh]@Shelovesamystery the security guard in the supermarket is new and he hasn't made himself popular. He seems to be on a constant power trip asking some people as they leave to show their reciept to prove they paid for their 5p bag,
Shocked he still has his job[/quote]
Have people complained? I would be.

[looptheloopinahulahoop]

Elderly people get scared and feel vulnerable sometimes and we all need to respect that in our neighbourhoods

Why do some people have to change their behaviour because other people are irrational? And why are vaccinated elderly people more important than unvaccinated children?

If you don't trust that the vaccine is going to work for you, stay at home, and let the rest of us play nicely outside.

And bolshy security guards need to be spoken to by management.

[babbaloushka]

The irony is, those girls were probably so excited because they've spent a year isolated from friends and peers, precisely for the benefit of people like the older lady. God forbid some girls enjoy themselves buying sweets together.

[Iamnotminterested]

As for the old woman pointing her finger at them as she spoke? Nope, not OK, just plain rude.

[JustJoinedRightNow]

Missing the point totally - but where we live we reuse our plastic bags. What if the security guard checked me for my receipt of the 5p bags and I didn’t have it because I’ve been re using it? Someone needs to point that out to the interfering jobsworth.

[Hollywolly1]

Security guy obviously on a power trip and if that's the best he can do he's a complete saddle and as for the old lady bat not bringing the husband to the shopI'm sure he's delighted to be rid of her for a few minutes, if she being bossy with 2 random kiddies can you only imagine what her husband gas to listen to everyday

[Hollywolly1]

Saddo not saddle

[3scape]

The elderly lady is a bully. But these people exist and part of learning to do straightforward things, like going to the shop, whilst navigating "problem" members of society is part of growing up.

[3scape]

The security guard will probably attract complaints.

[Thatisnotwhatisaid]

Both sound like mindless bullies on a power trip. The woman is being ridiculous, plenty of people have shopped in couples right throughout and if she wants her husband to accompany her he definitely can. I think morrisons were turning people in couples away at the height of the first lockdown last year but they don’t bother now and aldi never have where I live. If people can go to the pub or a coffee shop together and sit inside, they can definitely do their food shopping together.

[skodadoda]

@MarjorieBouvier

Fgs, if you are really that thick you can't work out what the OP meant, then you really can't get all high and mighty about misspelling/autocorrect fail.

That is completely uncalled for. Scald and scold are pronounced differently and have very different meanings. If OP knows which is which she would have noticed when she proofread her comments. By your logic we might as well write in gobbledygook.

[AfternoonToffee]

Have we not had the scold/scald discussion before and it was a mixed bag to whether they sounded the same or different?

Anyway hopefully the two girls will have given less thought to it all then the OP.

[GreyhoundG1rl]

Have we not had the scold/scald discussion before and it was a mixed bag to whether they sounded the same or different?
Of course they don't sound the same, if you're pronouncing them correctly.

[Moulesvinrouge1]

@GrumpyHoonMain

It’s more about kids being their unsupervised than them together. Kids tend to cause trouble in supermarkets

Really? When?

[GreyhoundG1rl]

GrumpyHoonMain
It’s more about kids being their unsupervised than them together. Kids tend to cause trouble in supermarkets

Really? When?

What on earth does "when?" mean?!
Loads of shops in London have signs up saying "No more than x number of schoolchildren at a time".
Can you guess why that is?

[itsgettingwierd]

My friend and I were shopping in supermarket together (separate small basket of top up groceries but support bubble so 1 household)

We were approached and rollicked by a security guard for not social distancing.

He was not impressed when I asked why he wasn't challenging the couples who had come in together and if they ask for 1 person per household they should apply that to everyone.

And in fact as we were shopping alone we weren't the ones breaking the rules and our being within 2m was irrelevant because actually there are no guidance or rules to cover this situation.

So I can understand why people are frustrated at being asked to shop alone whilst groups of schools children are clogging up the aisles (which is what we've been saying the past few weeks)