A policeman in the supermarket ,would you do this?

[girlfriend44]

This morning there was a policeman doing some shopping in the supermarket.

A family walked past and when the dad noticed the policeman in the aisle he said to his little girl.
Look there's a policeman. If your naughty round the supermarket he will take you away to prison. The little girl. Just listened and didn't say anything .
He made sure she saw the policeman and as said told her he would take her to prison if she was naughty.
The policeman never heard but I did . I was right by them
Would you do this?
AIBU to think it's a bit odd.

of course it's not odd, good lord

Why wasn't everyone else doing it then? She wasn't even being naughty.

Yes, it’s odd.

You should not teach your child to fear the police.

Oh fuck me

It’s pretty pathetic tbh.

Its not odd, the guy was just thick/a shit parent

I can tell you for free that that sentiment really pisses off a lot of police.

Kids should be able to see police officers as someone to go to for help, not someone to be afraid of.

Threatening kids with police has its place, but if you want children to ask safe adults for help then police officers should be one of those safe adults.

I appreciate that seeing police that way is culturally and socially more complicated for some people.

Father educating daughter

Exactly.

I don’t think parents should tell their kids another adult is going to tell them off, be it police, shop staff etc

Probably also a parent who tells their kids from the start of November that Santa is always watching and they won't get any presents at all if they are naughty between then and Christmas.

And who threatens to leave their toddler behind if they don't co-operate with leaving somewhere immediately.

Because a bit of terror and blackmail is always a great parenting choice, obviously. Especially when the dreaded outcome is clearly never going to actually happen in reality. (Well, maybe the Santa one if a parent is especially cruel. But not the police arrest for naughtiness, or toddler abandonment in a public place.)

Some people are really thick and don't think things through properly.

And some of those people become parents.

What a complete moron of a parent.

Awful thing to say to a child. Police officers should be seen as a person to keep you safe, not be scared to approach them.

It’s crappy in a way, BUT we have no idea if his daughter is a right little diva that drives the family bonkers. Maybe it’s a teaching moment that will allow him to get his daughter to eat her veggies !

Also putting parental responsibility for making sure their child behaves on to someone else

It's like the parents who tell their child the Doctor/Nurse/Dentist will give them an injection with a big needle if they don't behave.

And a couple of weeks after Madelaine McCann went missing a mum told her young son that "the security guard would come and take you away" (The boy just shrugged in a fucked if I care way , good on him.

Way to go these parents who scare their DC off the people who try to help them when they should be , duh parenting

Depending on your luck that day, if you are naughty in the supermarket the police officer would either:

A. Do nothing
B. Give you a beating, taze you and choke you out

Children should see Police Officers as people to trust and go to if they need help.

As a small child many years ago I was always told to look for a "Policeman" or a Mum with little children if I got lost on UK holidays and they would help me.

Didn't you say "Hey you sexist oik . It is Police Officer or (if you must ) Police Person . What values are you teaching your child"?

Or
"I'll bet this wouldn't be your first rodeo in prison, eh?"

🙄

Just a standard crap parent.

Another overheard supermarket conversation amounting to nothing. The kid wasn't fazed, why should you be.

Maybe he could actively parent said child. Passing your parenting off to someone else be that police or Santa is shit parenting. Making your child view the police as people to be scared of is really shit, children need to be able to identify safe people in their communities be that teachers, lollipop people or the police.

Just a shit parent. There are plenty of them about

I used to work in a role where I could be mistaken for the police but I wasn’t the police and you would be horrified how often that happens but also quite touched. How often people buy your lunch for you.