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?

So you think it’s more conceivable that she brought out her sick kid to the shops for fun?

I have no idea what the circumstances but would assume on the balance of probabilities the most likely explanation is she had no choice.

Mum didn't need to do full shop and hopefully she didn't.
Even in villages they have a local store for essentials. Nothing warrants taking a sick child into a highly populated supermarket.

Beans and bread - dinner sorted. Tampons in an emergency.

No need for the supermarket. She has a car I'm assuming. Go local, leave sick kid in car for 2 minutes.

How awful. It is a real stretch to think she had no other choice.

At least she had the foresight for a bowl! Now that's what I call multitasking 😂

Go to a petrol station.

A bowl with sick in is not on. It's making me feel queasy just thinking about it.

Was there a pharmacy in the supermarket by any chance? I’ve taken a sick child to Tesco before to pick up the antibiotics the GP prescribed to make her better….

Admittedly, I didn’t do a food shop while I was there though

That is disgusting! Poor kid! And as I am emetophobic I would be horrified and leave the shop immediately on seeing that! Surely she could have waited till he was better, not like she would starve in one or 2 days is it!

It's really heartening to see that posters generally aren't rushing in to prop your ego up,, OP. Anybody with a functioning brain cell would realise that there isn't a chance in hell that the women is taking a sick child with them to the supermarket if there were any other choice for her.

The fact that someone wouldn't think of any scenarios or just didn't care but rushed to start a thread hoping for validation says so much about the type of person they are. Lacking.

But at least you got close enough to look in the bowl. Ugh.

When DH started working away - no car - and no nearby family - I had to make sure there was food and medicines always in - not always easy with tight budgets at time - but I didn't want to be in this position.

Did once have to ask a neighbour to walk my older two to school - they were over bug but I was down as was youngest. Also once had to send oldest child to shop and back. Also had to take ill child in pushchair on playground to pick other kids up - stood away from everyone but some people still upset.

DS also had period he got travel sick -maybe it's an ear infection making child queasy.

The options every insist you have aren't aways there and you have to best you can.

I will describe the area where the supermarket is in. It's a suburb town. Down the main A road which divides the town - there're 3 supermarkets. The one where Mum was in plus two others. Distance between the two furthest are a mile apart. Then there's a parade of 40 shops of various things. About 4 of them sell food. Then got a petrol station on A road. Then in the estates, there's a Co-op or Spar

Two of the supermarkets do food courier delivery plus all the Co-ops and Spars.
'
My mum followed the mum and sick boy as she went in. Didn't see them after that.

I would assume since she had to do this she had no alternative as why would you do that if you had no choice.

Some people don't have as much support as others.

Was there a pharmacy in the supermarket by any chance? I’ve taken a sick child to Tesco before to pick up the antibiotics the GP prescribed to make her better….

I wondered same - as nearby one till recently had one.

When I was heavily pg with second I had first screaming in pushchair after long hour GP wait in chemists get her anti biotics for ear infection- man kicked off about not keeping her quite. Dh was out the country so it was on me to get medical care - which I was doing. Luckily chemist and another woman stood up for me and he waited outside - but I clearly wasn't there by choice.

The only assumption I would make would be to give the mum the benefit of the doubt and assume she felt she had no alternative.

Whether you believe she did or not, from never having even seen her yourself, she may have felt she didn't.

I couldn't think of anything worse than dragging a sick child around a supermarket, even disregarding the worry of making someone else ill. Certainly cannot imagine many people doing that u less they thought they had no other choice.

That’s disgusting. I can’t believe posters are defending her! Some people have no idea what’s appropriate & what isn’t.

This. I've never been in this exact situation but I've definitely been in situations where I've had absolutely no choice but to take my child to places that I'd rather not.

I unfortunately had to do this when my daughter was little.
Absolutely no alternative.
I felt terrible about it, and I quickly grabbed the essentials and got out of there.
Sometimes there is no choice.

My son had flu for almost 3 weeks and constantly needed a sick bowl, even though was not actually sick.
Some people truly have no one they can turn to for help.
If I was one of those unfortunate people I too would have had no choice but to take him to the shop with a sick bowl. As a very last resort!
My shopping delivery sometimes gets cancelled on the morning of delivery.

Honestly, based on the things I've seen and even read on here, yes I absolutely do.

The other day I saw a two year old who was unmistakably in the midst of whooping cough being dragged round a clothes shop and then a greetings card shop, not even in a pushchair with Mum, Dad,
older siblings or cousins and presumably an auntie and a grandma. He was bright red in the face, very poorly looking and coughing to the point of vomiting down his clothes.

Everyone was looking on and commenting that the poor child should be wrapped up in bed. There were clearly at least 4 adults, 1 could have stayed home with him.

One of my friends and I recently met, with another friend who had a newborn, for a coffee (something which could have been easily rescheduled) and I was surprised she had brought her toddler. "Oh yeah, nursery sent her home this morning, GP said it's hand, foot and mouth, gonna pick up her prescription after this" meanwhile she let her run around touching drinks bottles, packets of crisps, packaged biscuits and attempt to kiss the baby. I had to go and intervene at the counter as she did nothing to stop her, and got told off by friend for "treating her like she's a leper telling her not to touch things, most people have had it anyway". Friend with newborn was put in an awful situation and was visibly uncomfortable as other friend was making a scene about her wanting to leave and trying to keep baby away from infectious toddler, "it's better she gets it now and gets it out of the way anyway, builds her immune system."
The baby and her older child went on catch it and they were very unwell. The same friend invited me round for dinner when her husband and toddler had covid, didn't make me aware, let the toddler cough all over me and my dinner and lo and behold I got very ill and needed a month off from a brand new job without sick pay as I wasn't eligible.

The last time I went ice skating at Christmas, the rink got shut because a kid vomited and pooed herself right in the middle of the ice. "Oh yeah she's been sick all night but we'd already paid for the tickets and I'd given her some calpol and she'd perked up a bit". It was part of a Santa experience (Skating, Hot Chocolate and Cookie decorating, then meet Santa). Guess who we saw sitting on Santa's knee less than an hour later and lifting out marshmallows and biscuits from the same container as other kids, then puking again after her hot chocolate? Grim. How many kids and staff did that kid pass her norovirus onto right before Christmas because her Mum couldn't miss out on her non refundable £14.95 and "Making Memories #NiceList" pics for the 'gram?

Some people are really, really stupid. Some people don't want to put their kids first. Of course, we don't know the ins and outs of the situation in the OP but based on the absolute idiocy I've seen there's no way i'd assume it's the absolute truth that she had no other choice.

She may have had no other choice. But we don't know that.

Why do you assume they have a car?

Not necessarily. She may have been desperate for items for her sick child, and there were no slots available. I doubt anyone who has any other option would take a sick child to a supermarket unless they were desperate.

I'm impressed that you can grab bread and milk and get through check-out in 2 mins.

What car?
I didn't have one.

Hmmmm

6 is a tricky age. Maybe could be trusted left in the car maybe not.

Maybe mum had run out of calpol, jelly, toast, flat coke for when child is feeling a little better. Electrolyte replacements

Maybe she has runout of milk stuff for tea for her other dcs.

In an ideal world of course the dc should be tucked up in bed with a trusted adult but maybe no one was available

You'd leave a three year old sitting outside a shop on their own?