Shops are not playgrounds

[Graveltone]

Wish some parents would understand that shops are not playgrounds! Kids play with the toys, swing on the barriers, run around etc.

This is obviously more an issue when the schools are on holiday.

Don’t really understand what you want here? Slagging off parents session?

https://www.playgroundshop.com/en/

The other day a kid was on a scooter in the supermarket, ran into a pregnant woman who was nearly toppled but managed to use a shelf to stay upright and scooted off laughing, the mum of the scooter kid just looked at the woman and walked off.

I can't believe that.

They also aren't date spots, social clubs or libraries, but that doesn't stop adults smooching, chatting away in front of the cheese fridge or reading every magazine on the rack.

I can’t believe you can’t believe it. There’s so many threads on here about kids misbehaving in public and so many are about kids on scooters, so I’m surprised you’ve never seen it. About a year ago an older lady was knocked over by a kid on a scooter who was racing a kid on heelys in Tesco. It’s really not that rare.

carpet shops are lovely playgrounds.

I think general behaviour in shops is appalling! I had my 2 year old in a pushchair today, I had people of all ages pushing past, tutting about the pushchair, unable to wait a second as I picked something off the shelf. Rude to shop workers, pushing in line etc etc. There are unruly kids but honestly the behaviour I see from all ages really seems to be going downhill!

I would believe it @CatamaranViper because I work in a,supermarket and see it every day. We have kids on scooters, teens/adults on e scooters and currently are plagued by a gang of teenage boys who think its fun to ride bikes up and down the aisles. Then we have football's being taken off the shelf and kicked around, children whose parents let them get dolls prams to push around with no intention of buying and another lot of anti social teens who like to let off party poppers or baby shower cannons.

You just have to google ‘children on scooters in supermarket’ to see basically every forum, including this one has posts about it, as does social media and there are news articles about children wrecking havoc in supermarkets on scooters including one where they were spitting at staff. It’s a wonder there are any retail staff left the things I’ve seen myself and heard from others about customers.

In my area the latest trend seems to be "playing" in car parks ibwas waiting for my son to come out of school some mums got scooters and bikes out for their kids to play on in the carpark with cars driving around then they used the corner of the carpark as a toilet this might be ok if you live in the middle of nowhere with no parks and toilets but we were in a supermarket carpark which had a toilet available and there was a bike track and large park literally in the next street (carpark isn't restricted you can leave your car for a week if you like no charge)

Thought this was an isolated incident however I was in the carpark again sitting waiting and someone (different parents) gets out a fucking football playing football in amongst a load of parked cars with cars driving around

These are primary school children btw

YANBU. I generally think how lucky they are to even have kids. But then I'm a miserable old cow anyway.

They also aren't date spots, social clubs or libraries, but that doesn't stop adults smooching, chatting away in front of the cheese fridge or reading every magazine on the rack.

None of which are likely to cause injury to other people, unlike children racing sround, or charging around on scooters. I was once knocked to the ground in the street by a boy who ran into me from behind. A frail elderly person could have been seriously injured. (Now waiting for someone to say that old people should stay at home so that children can run around wherever they please.)

I was in a Tesco express last Sunday at about 10pm and a group of young boys who looked between 10 and 14 came in with one on a bike.

it’s an absolutely tiny shop so everyone had to move out of the way because they were so forceful and it was actually pretty intimidating.

They started grabbing things and shoving them in a bag on the bike whilst shouting and swearing, an older man of about 50 tried to stop them but got told to “fuck off and die boomer”
The man on the till only looked about 19 and was looking round for help but there was only one other staff member at the back of the shop and he couldn’t leave the counter.
It was all so quick hardly anyone could step in and I have such bad anxiety at the best of times so I was frozen wondering what to do.

They grabbed what they could and left, the man in his 50’s tried again to stop them leaving but was shoved out of the way. I don’t think he wanted to challenge them too much because despite their age you just don’t know if they have something like a knife or not.

Whilst I was paying another man (a customer) came over with the staff member from the back of the shop, the second staff member asked what had happened and after it had been briefly explained he said “oh not again!”
It turns out this is a regular occurrence and they have been told not to stop the lads from taking anything. The police have been involved but don’t seem to be able to do much, the boys don’t listen and don’t care because they don’t get much punishment as they are so young.
It sounded like it wasn’t always the same group either.

My DP isn’t from the UK originally and was amazed how some kids behave in this country and are allowed to get away with it. The first time he heard a small child swear he literally couldn’t believe it, he was convinced he must have misheard. The stories my friends kids tell us about what kids in their school get up to as well is always shocking and when my niece was 13 she once came home from a party because her friends were taking coke and it scared her.

We live in Cumbria so it’s not even like we are in a big city!

I know it’s a small minority of kids that are like this but because they get away with it they have no reason to stop. I’ve heard many many times that it takes a village, unfortunately if anyone from the village tries to intervene or tell off kids for misbehaving they usually get berated for getting involved.

I've never seen anyone having a snog in a supermarket.

My store has car park on the roof, accessible by a ramp. Which is divided into two - up and down. Kids ride on their bikes on the opposite direction. One of these days someone is going to knock these kids - some as young as 8.

Then get teens who mope about. Security and management throw them out.

Another thing. Parents open a multipack of crisps, chocolate, Cheesestrings etc to give one to their DC and leave the rest of the pack on the shelf.

This is theft! Either feed your child before shopping or explain to DC they can only have a pack once it’s been paid for.

“My child has rights to ride on a scooter” screamed a bitch to a security guard at another supermarket.

No he doesn’t

Nothing's changed in 30 years: was admiring my scar today that I got in Sainsburys near Guildford. A small child (about 5-6ish) had one of those trolleys for the stacks of baskets like you find at the end of the tills and was running riot with it round the store totally unattended, I'd avoided her a couple of times but got it rammed into my leg, ruining my tights and sticking a hole in my leg which bled profusely. I wasn't the first person who had been rammed but definitely the worst injury. Anyhow, I politely told said child off: I said it wasn't a good idea to run round the store with the trolley, it belonged by the tills, and that it wasn't kind to ram the trolley into people's legs, it hurt, and that she could see it had made a big hole in my tights and made my leg bleed. And I suggested that really she should be with her mum and helping her mum shop, not running round and ramming the trolley into people. I got a few 'well said' from other shoppers who hadn't been brave enough to intervene. Turned the next corner and furious mother stormed up with lots of F words and told me I shouldn't be telling her kid off, and that I should never have kids for speaking to hers like that, as she was frightened and wouldn't now leave her side . A crowd gathered (she as loud) so I said the child was HER responsibility and should not be running about the store unattended with the trolley ramming it into peoples legs. I said I had told her off gently and clearly her child needed firm boundaries because she was now quietly well behaved and beside her mother where she should be, rather than causing chaos in the store, and that despite having such a foul mouthed parent I was sure that her child could behave appropriately for a shopping trip with the appropriate supervision and boundaries in place, just as she was now. And walked off.
I got a round of applause from the other customers.

we try to avoid shops at peak periods and school hols

That just unlocked some memories!

IMO, too many people have kids but lack the intelligence of social etiquette or worse

YANBU. Does my head in. "But muuuum, those kids are? Why can't iiiiiiiiii?????"

I used to work in the Disney store years ago, and I shit you not, people would drop their kids in there and ask us to watch them whilst they went off shopping like we were some sort of crèche.

My niece said exactly the same when she worked there. Utter madness.