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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to let my child lay on the floor at the pharmacy?

20 replies

Summertime35 · 30/12/2024 22:39

DS is 3.5 year old and is slightly speech delayed with possible SEN, nursery have referred him to the children’s development centre for concerns over concentration and repetitive behaviour. No one has mentioned ASD or ADHD but me and DP suspect something. The majority of the time, he acts “socially acceptable” especially lately, turning 3 his understanding has come along and he wants to follow instructions. We can go out in public now, holding hands, walking without a pram or a tantrum. Tonight, the pharmacy were taking forever, we were there around 5pm, I was in a queue and DS wouldn’t stand still next to me. He was over tired, his bed time is 6-7pm. He was a couple steps away from me, in a corner, rolling around on the floor. I asked a few times to stop, I don’t try to pull him off the floor anymore as I’m heavily pregnant and he’s a big boy. I paused and thought he isn’t harming anyone and I just left him to it, watching from the corner of my eye. He did this for around 10 minutes , felt like forever. It’s just played on my mind tonight, was I BU to let him do this?

OP posts:

MyPithyPoster · 30/12/2024 22:40

Well, it doesn’t sound as though you could do much else to be honest.

HoundsOfHelfire · 30/12/2024 22:42

Fine as long as he wasn’t going to trip anyone up

Ablondiebutagoody · 30/12/2024 22:43

Sounds fine to me. He wasn't bothering anyone

HPandthelastwish · 30/12/2024 22:44

Was he a trip hazard?
Were there other people in the store?

At that time of night I'd have taken the pushchair if I was walking there and back so he had somewhere to sit. So perhaps do that next time so it isn't an issue. The people that turn their noses up at young children in pushchairs are often those who drive everywhere and their child only has to do 10 steps door to door

Notthebeard · 30/12/2024 22:48

I thought you were me! Just had exactly the same with my almost 3 year old at the pharmacy. He lay down on the floor, said “maybe I go sleep here” and just lay there for 5 mins while I collected my prescription. It was his nap time and he wasn’t trying to take everything off the shelves like sometimes so I just let him get on with it 🙈 hopefully the other people in the pharmacy didn’t mind!

LittleRedYarny · 30/12/2024 22:51

So as i understand it, your son (who is quite likely SeN/ND) was quietly on the floor in the corner not tripping anyone up while you queued at the every end of his day when he was tired and fed up.

I say well done to him for self managing at a point I the day it would be fairly reasonable (in my eyes) for him to completely loose his shit doing an utterly boring errand.

Admittedly to the outside world it may have looked a tad “quirky” but rather quirky than a melt down.

Really please do be genuinely be proud of him and yourself.

YourGladSquid · 30/12/2024 23:08

If he’s out of the way I don’t see why not. Just let him be.

Some parents let them their kid spread like a starfish during his tantrum at a supermarket once and that was really annoying, but because he was taking over the aisle.

SoNiceToComeHomeTo · 30/12/2024 23:11

So long as he wasn’t in danger of being hurt or inconveniencing customers why not?

Fannyfiggs · 30/12/2024 23:15

To be honest I've wanted to lie down on the pharmacy floor many a time (I may have added a roll or two in too) whilst waiting for my prescription to be dispensed. It sounds like he was enjoying himself and was causing no harm.
I wouldn't think anything else about it ❤️

Redburnett · 30/12/2024 23:16

YABU, someone might step on your DC and hurt him, or an older person (eg with poor mobility or balance) might trip over him and be badly hurt. Pharmacies typically have a lot of older people using them. The excuses and explanations are irrelevant. It is not safe for the child or those around them to be rolling around the floor in a shop.

MrsApplepants · 30/12/2024 23:19

I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid at him, to be honest, as long as he wasn’t getting in everyone’s way.

MrsSprouts · 30/12/2024 23:19

@Summertime35 great parenting

He was not disturbing anyone and it sounds like he was trying to cope in his own way.

Nothing worse than seeing poor parent's desperate for their floor lying dc to move and sometimes trying to drag them to their feet. I really do believe patience is all that's needed in the parent.

Did your ds behaviour stay calm or was he upset/ heightened?

Endofyear · 30/12/2024 23:43

I wouldn't worry, he wasn't disturbing anyone else or in the way. Think of it this way - there's much worse things he could have been doing! He's only 3 and it was late in the day, I think you did fine 💐

ludicrouslycapaciousbags · 30/12/2024 23:49

Child rolling about the floor in a public place ✅
Pregnant ✅
Possible sen ✅

AdmiralCoconut · 31/12/2024 00:20

Oh God, the times I've been stuck waiting in the pharmacy with overtired kids acting crazy and eyeing up the veggie straws😬. I do sympathise.

ThereTheirTheyreYourYoureToTooLEARNTHEM · 31/12/2024 00:44

Thank you for being the kind of parent who considers whether their child’s behaviour in public is acceptable. It sounds like you did the best you could and your child’s behaviour wasn’t a problem for others. I once sat in a cafe near parents who actively encouraged their baby to scream in response to silly faces they were making. Unbelievably rude.

FuzzyWuzzyWuzABear · 31/12/2024 00:46

You didn't really 'let' him do it.

You just couldn't stop him.

CheddarGorge99 · 31/12/2024 00:54

As a parent of an SEN child I would have done the same thing in your situation. Sometimes it does require you to let stuff slide which you'd rather not, but your actions today enabled you both to handle.a potentially tricky situation which could easily have resulted in a melt down. He was happy, regulated and not in anyone's way so all good!

Cinderellaandthesevendwarves · 31/12/2024 00:56

Meh you learn not to ask eventually just do what you are doing, try your best and get on with your day. Someone will always be upset with something you do. That is just the way of the world. Fellow SEN parent.

ilovemyspace · 31/12/2024 01:32

Can I just ask if you're a single parent and so didn't have a choice in having to take DS with you?

I'm from the (ancient) times when children had the afternoon naps they needed and went to bed at a "children's bedtime"

I see tired and cranky children out with their parents shopping at 8 and 9 o'clock at night / or being taken round the shops in the afternoon, when you can see they need to have a sleep (the children, not the parents 😁) - and parents are yelling at the children because they're whinging.

Whinging is often a child's language for "I'm tired and I'm overwhelmed"

Children need routine and need lots of sleep at regular times for their development .............. and sometimes I wonder what impact long nursery /school / wraparound care hours are having ..........

On the other hand, I also realise that's not always possible these days to give children the routine they need ............... life is life and we're all just doing what we need to do to survive.

This is definitely not a parent-bashing post ................ maybe it's more of a
" wake up and realise what contribution parents make to society " comment to government to make life better for both parents and children

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