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?

This exactly. I am currently stuck at home with my children who have a sickness bug and would only go out if desperate.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe The same medical conditions that make me immunocompromised also mean I'm unable to ever have children, so it's impossible for me to be in that position.

Disability is real and it isn't fun. People doing shitty, inconsiderate, dangerous things have real effects on real people.

To be honest, with the general levels of intelligence, common sense and selfishness in society, nothing would surprise me.

To all the people who think the child suddenly got ill out of nowhere: if that was the case, where did the sick bowl come from?

I'd give the benefit of the doubt that it was a trip that couldn't be avoided. If she had a load of family members with her then obviously it's a piss take.

@LyingWitchInTheWardrobe your default may be compassion in theory, but strangely not for disabled and immunocompromised people. I guess we don't count as people to you.

It is absolutely rank. So unhygienic and unpleasant.

As an emetophobe, I'd have left the shop.

And probably alerted staff (maybe someone could have helped the mum?)

As a parent of a child who became suddenly unwell in a supermarket (migraine but sickness follows) I had to make a massive choice as I knew we'd need essentials. I sent poorly DC outside, with a (younger) sibling to watch and literally ran round for medicine and essentials. Thankfully he didn't puke until we got home **

** We were on holiday so didn’t have our usual supplies, I was on my own at that point with the 3 DC (DP joined us the next day due to work) and delivery options were limited.

Firstly, I'm sorry for your situation, but that is a fairly unusual case.
Secondly, we're not talking about anyone looking after the child but being able to provide some staples of food (either from their own stock or by popping to the shop for you) to tide you over. Which sounds like it might have been possible for you?

Vomiting kid I haven't had to do so far, but I've had to take a pox-riddled child to the pharmacy for stuff to treat his chickenpox and a child with impetigo to a pharmacy to treat that. If while there I realised I had bugger all to feed the child, as I'd been planning to shop while he was at school, and the pharmacy was next to or inside a shop, I would buy food.

My daughter had migraines that come on quickly and cause vomiting, it’s why I bought the sick bags as we’ve been caught out too many times. It’s hard as generally we have no idea one is about to come on until it does. Occasionally we get a little warning but generally we don’t.

You must be the OP’s sock puppet.

You are so wrong with all of your misplaced assumptions, it’s actually hideous.

People here are being ridiculous. It is not in any way ok.

Thay poor kid. There's really no excuse for that. I dont care if she had no other way of getting to the shop. Then you go without for one day.

I've just had a sickness bug, the past place I'd want to be is traipsing round a supermarket.

Some people actually just don't give a shit how their kids feel though, they don't need a reason some parents will see their child vomiting as nothing more than another inconvenience to them.

Maybe because people aren't so narrow minded.

To be honest this was in the early days of him having migraines (so pre diagnosis / treatment) but I was just giving an example of why someone could need to take a puking child into a shop.

If we'd been at home we'd have had no issue but it was a holiday let, my DP had to come a few days later and it was before the times of Deliveroo etc

Could you explain why my assumptions are misplaced? It would help me (and others) to understand.

You don't need a car for some of the supermarkets. Minimum spend is £25
for Sainsburys. I once had no choice on Christmas Eve during the pandemic when I had to shield in Dec 2020 and our Christmas shop got cancelled last minute and we weren't allowed to go to family so I walked there and back with two plastic bags, made sure not to get anything too heavy that I couldn't manage but got what a small family needed to get through until Boxing Day. They took the crates out of the back of their van, put them on the floor and I loaded the shopping into the bag, no questions asked and nothing to suggest it was out of the ordinary.

I know, I know, £25 extortionate! It will bankrupt people and they will be unable to pay the rent and will get thrown onto the streets etc etc. But my point is you don't need a car for Click and Collect (and if you've got an old fashioned shopping trolley or a wheelie case even better for walking!).

Also OP has said there were petrol stations, smaller shops, a coop etc within walking distance.

A pp has said Coop deliver in an hour for £15.

So we've got to go through the scenarios that the mother had;

No partner.
No family.
No friends.
No neighbours.
No work colleagues.
No school mums.
No car.
No cash.
No credit card.
Less than £15 in the bank.
No overdraft facility.
An inability to go to any of the smaller shops or petrol station.
No food, medication or sanpro in the house to get by and no one at all she could borrow from.
No organisational skills to make sure she always had enough to make a few meals in the cupboard or freezer, spare box of sanpro, calpol etc.

Although, sadly, there are very tragic cases in today's society (woman has fled domestic violence, hasn't had access to work or benefits not paid yet, support workers involved unavailable) but thankfully they are rare. We don't know the woman's circumstances, sure. But we shouldn't be attempting to pass this off as a normal, acceptable event. A 6 year old should not be wandering round a
supermarket with a bowl of vomit.

YANBU poor kid

At our local supermarket you can do a click and collect on foot/bicycle/whatever. I do appreciate though that you might not be able to afford the minimum spend, if there is one

We'll play 'top trumps' if you like. I'm also immunocompromised. You don't need to have children to understand that if a parent is taking a sick child into a place not typical for a sick child to be, there is a very good reason for that.

Keep your distance - and your judgement - to yourself.

and don't @ me. If I see your comment and want to respond, I will.

@SableGrape Yes you can book click & collect for the same day! Morrisons, ASDA, Tesco & Sainsbury's do it. Also the Co-op do free delivery within an hour on their website (they give you a code this month which removes a £2 delivery charge)

I totally agree with this. People are getting more selfish. I saw a child with chicken pox clearly unwell at the checkout. The cashier commented and the mum said something like, “Oh yeah. Doctor told me to keep her home for 5 days but she’s so bored. Anyway, it’s only chicken pox”. I was horrified and the pregnant woman behind the mother and child was very stressed.

So personally I think the odds are in favour of this woman just not thinking about others. She’ll probably be sending her back to school tomorrow so she can spread norovirus to her classmates and lots of the staff 🙄

Not that unusual really, I've been in 2 refuges, and far too many women have passed through them, most from out of the area.

The staff wouldn't have been allowed to take cash, or a card and use it to buy things, the most they could have done would be to make a food bank referral, or a SS referral, which could have taken a couple of days and the food bank would have dropped off a parcel, but at their discression, no medicine or anything though, SS could have arranged medicine but it would have taken a few days I would think. They could have collected a prescription, but then there's the issue of getting a doctors appointment these days too.

Potentially another mum could have taken my card or cash and got what I needed, however it was made clear that it was strictly against the rules for cash to be swapping hands due to various reasons so would have potentially put my place at risk.

At one point they had like a petty cash fund apparently, but the budgets have been cut so much they don't have that option anymore (well the 2 was in don't).

That said - they do take donations of sealed calpol and just about everything else that could be used in an emergency, so I do regularly donate now things have settled for me.

Fortunately I was never in that position of having to drag my poorly kid out but that's down to luck really.

My parents were the kind who didn’t let their kids being unwell change their plans. I have fond memories of being dragged many places with a fever, bugs, goodness knows what. I am still angry about this and would never take my kids out unwell. I’d put a plea on the local Facebook/what’s app/whatever if I was that desperate.