Taking a sick child to a supermarket carrying a bowl to be sick in

[Auburngal]

My mum saw this at the supermarket. Child was about 6 at a guess. He looked sick and was carrying a bowl with some sick in it.

Supermarkets are open longer, have food couriers (Just Eat etc) and supermarkets' own food couriers - Sainsburys ChopChop, Tesco Express Whoosh and now supermarkets offer later day deliveries. Plus the mum could have messaged a friend, relative etc to pick up some food items to tie her over til child is well enough. I know the food couriers charge a lot more. We had a customer a few days ago on the food courier service we have ordering one loaf of bread costing 80p in the store and cost them £4.10!

I'm sure the mum wasn't all alone - no contact with anyone who could help. Plus there are local FB groups - Spotted.... I bet someone would respond to her pleas.

Fellow shoppers and my mum were horrified with sight. Not sure if anyone said anything to the mum. My mum was worried that people could pick up the bug the boy was carrying. Mum doesn't know if he touched anything in the store.

Would you drag your DC if they were throwing up in a supermarket?

No I wouldn’t do this . But I have a car - I could leave my child in the car so I could pop in . I am not broke to the point that I couldn’t afford a small delivery charge - so I could get it delivered . I have access to the internet - so I can easily go online and arrange an online shop / click and collect . I’m not rich but I’m not poor so if I had a sick child and couldn’t get to the shops I could just order a takeaway or pop to the local shop for a few bits . I have a husband , family , friends - so I could always get someone to watch my sick child whilst I popped to the supermarket or get someone to go for me . I always have food in - so if I couldn’t get out then I would be able to throw something together . So , no I would never do this because I’m lucky enough that I wouldn’t ever need to.

But OP you are failing to consider that this mother may have none of the options above . Some people are so short of money that they don’t even have £1 spare. Some people can’t afford internet / mobiles - so they can’t order . Some people don’t have a car that their child can sit in. Some people don’t have anyone around that could help. This could have been her only option . You don’t know her or her situation , it’s very easy to assume but you just don’t know .

It costs nothing to be kind .

I know, so much for female solidarity. No one knows if they were contagious - if it was chemo / gastro etc. So many judgmental rude people - why not assume that the mother wasn't dragging her child around for fun?!

You really can book click and collect for the same day!

As an emetophobe of other people's sick I'd be hot footing it out that supermarket 🤢

Its inconsiderate as there's food out and everything, the ONLY possible place that could be appropriate to have taken said child was MAYBE a pharmacy for dioralyte or similar if really dehydrated, if a single mum with no help from anyone. But even then unless child was really struggling and needed it asap I'd do an Amazon order and make do with sips of water or maybe a little squash for the sugar, for a day

Note to self for future children - have contingency emergency supplies e.g. dry crackers/lucazade/dioralyte in the cupboard at all times!

^^this

If there are spaces left then yes you can - but for a charge higher than the normal charge

Calm down. I wasn't trying to be a twat, I thought might be useful for people to know. Also, FYI you don't need a car for Asda click and collect, lots of people collect on foot.

But I sense you are determined to martyr the op who couldn't possibly come up with another plan than take her her vomiting child to the supermarket.

Do they have a car?

There’s a lot of ‘Let them eat cake’ going on.

Click and collects no good if the only food you can afford's whatevers ticketed in the reduced aisle. Also Mums escaping domestic violence and having to lay low may have absolutely zero people to call on.

You have absolutley no idea what that Mum and childs life is like. Noone with options drags a puking child to the supermarket. Maybe if you ever see someone in such dire straights you could offer a helping hand instead of being a judgemental.....

Surely the evil looks were out of concern for your unwell "green" child who looked like she needed to be at home in bed instead of out and about at the supermarket, rather then fears of them catching something from her?

I’ve seen this before. Local Tesco and a woman with her son actually laying in the trolley with a sleeping bag and a bowl. Awful

I hope you were a Good Samaritan and offered to help in some way given that you’re very certain the mother had no alternative. Otherwise you’re just a judgemental so and so.

I remember someone suggested to me ‘maybe you could could ask a neighbour’ to look in on my baby when I was new to the area and had no one. Although I never walked a child with a bowl of sick, I have walked around covered in a child’s sick when I had no choice.

Supermarket sick bowl and poorly child, not good but you only know what you were told second hand. People do embelish sometimes.
I know things aren't always to cut and dried but ffs there are a lot of judgy posters on this thread. We can't all be bloody perfect, drive or have someone to call on to help in time of crisis. Some of us just have to get on with it the best way we can.

Can't believe anyone thinks there is no alternative to this. Of course that is not acceptable. Then again if she'd left the kid outside in the car no doubt some busybody would have had a go about her leaving the child...

The child is chucking up, they're not going to want a 3 course meal cooked for them. FGS go and ask your neighbour for a few slices of bread so they can have a bit of toast and get a click and collect for the next day. Even if I didn't know my next door neighbour then I'd still knock and ask. Who'd say no to a couple of slices of toast for a sick child?

There really is no excuse for dragging a poor sick child around a supermarket - and if the mother doesn't drive then she's also dragged the poor thing all the way there feeling terrible.

Honestly if they really are a single mother with no car and no money and not a jot of food in the house - and we've absolutely no idea if that actually is the case - then you need to at least work at making some connections so you have a support network of some sort. To not bother doing that is pretty negligent IMO.

Well my Grandkids don't go to school.. home educated.
One gets car sick very easy ..even on short trips.. perhaps same with this child?
How can people on here play judge n jury without knowing the facts.
Mother might be down to her last few pounds and nipped in for essential.

Love all these people saying it's acceptable to have anyone whatsoever wander around a supermarket clutching a sick bowl with puke it.

Presumably the ones that would do it with no consideration for anyone else.

Exactly this!

She obviously had no other alternative, else she would have done it.

Also just because he had a sick bowl doesn’t mean he had a sickness bug.

He could have been feeling queasy for any number of reasons (medication, car journey, sensory issues, anxiety, chemo etc) and he may not necessarily have been or will be sick and it doesn’t mean it’s contagious.

I'm sure there's lots of reasons why this happened... But as someone who has extreme emetophia, even reading the post has filled me with anxiety.
That poor child, I hope they're ok :(

It's completely out of order and anyone who'd do this is selfish and bold as brass.

This. It’s a horrible world we live in sometimes and your privilege is absolutely showing.

My DD has had a cough since January that has been causing her to vomit. She is not contagious but when the cough starts she is likely to be sick. Unfortunately life carries on and she has been sick in public. I’m sure this mum wouldn’t be dragging her. Hold around the supermarket if she could avoid it but we can never be sure what is going on in other people’s lives. With what we have been through recently with my daughter I could see a situation where this mum has had to take her child with her.

My daughter’s school asked her to go in despite having been sick within 12 hours of going to school, they could see that it was not a contagious situation and they didn’t want her missing her education. We tried to avoid her being sick at school by driving her there and she was excused from PE, but school felt she should be there despite the risk she might vomit.

"I wasn't trying to be a twat" although judging what I think when I've written nothing of the sort?

i was thinking of my experience of click and collect. Wouldn't be able to do it without a car (nearest supermarket that offers it would be at least 2 buses, and even then there's only a few each day). Plus minimum order charges (although I guess the £30 minimum would probably only fill one carrier bag with food prices as they are).