Wish kids would stop opening stuff in shops

[notedbiscuits]

It annoys me when kids - both when I worked in retail and when I am visiting shops - touch, muck about and play with stuff that they (or their parent(s)) going to buy.

I have seen kids opening the blind boxes and bags - think Lego figures, Pokémon.

Play with footballs

Then have seen evidence of multi packs opened with a bag of crisps taken. Sometimes it’s the parent that opened the multi pack and pay for the item as their DC was screaming and giving a bag of Quavers just to keep them quiet.

Look but don’t touch

Footballs, scooters, roller skates, heelies, even bloody bikes.....all used in supermarkets regularly.
People really are clueless about how to behave in public sometimes.

I let my kids eat something in store and have the cashier scan the empty bag/carton at the end. What’s the problem ? Although I did watch a woman open a bottle of wine at the checkout and glug it straight from the bottle as it was going through and although me and dh were gobsmacked we did wonder what sort of day she had had.

Because it's a shop not a cafe. Are parents really that incapable of saying no? Entitled parents breading entitled children.

All those asking why it matters if you’re going to pay for it anyway - how do the shop staff know you’re going to pay? You might not have any money. Your card might get declined. It’s CF behaviour.

When I worked in retail the other thing that drove me mad was people putting items in the bottom of a pram or pushchair then being surprised when staff watched or followed them. Just put it in a basket so we know you’re not trying to steal it.

Sometimes it’s the parent that opened the multi pack and pay for the item

then what's the problem? Why do you care when people open what they pay for?

Opening and not buying is stealing. Paying for an empty pack of biscuit is fine. Shame some people will NOT pay, but there's always one unfortunately

I once saw a pair of toddlers being wheeled round Tesco in November at 9.30pm munching their way through an advent calendar. The advent calendar was ditched when empty. I couldn't work out what the worst bit of this was - the late night, November, effectively shoplifting or eating more than one advent calendar chocolate in a day.

My children were taught to wait for whatever we were buying in the supermarket. They were fed and watered already and I wanted them to learn patience and a decent standard of behaviour.

I always had emergency apples, drinks etc so no need to consume before buying.

Lazy parenting.

maybe it's the parent , or child-free adult, who wanted some crips while shopping. Why do you care?

Some people get outraged when you leave your child sit in the trolley. Whatever you do, someone will be offended, so most parents ignore frankly.

Entitled behaviour bothers me. And it was a child in this case. Either way not acceptable. Clearly you've never worked in a shop where you have to deal with all this shit.

Gosh I hope they fry them after breading them.

“Why does it matter?”

Because you are consuming something you haven’t paid for.

Tesco provides free fruit for kids to snack on.

But I thought you specified in your op that you were talking about when they do pay for it?
"Sometimes it’s the parent that opened the multi pack and pay for the item as their DC was screaming..."
Have I misunderstood what you were saying?

Because they are being consumed before the have been purchsed. Would you open a pack of cheese and a bottle of wine and walk round the supermarket eating those?

Why is this an issue if you pay for the crisps with the rest of your shopping? It’s not the same as opening a toy and not buying it!

Yes. Taking a Costa frappe - there was a Costa in retail park then drop the container in the clothing.

This is why no food and drink notices are in many shops. Not supermarkets. As it was fairly full on dropped, the splash back was bad. We found about £150 clothes ruined by the frappe.

I say from my days of retail, about a quarter of the opened packs of crisps etc were purchased. Rest left on the shelf
Some parents opened a multi pack to give DC to eat as were crying or screaming.

Remember the Tazo craze of the 90s? I remember so many multipacks of walkers crisps ripped open to find the one to complete the set.

No I wouldn't and as I mentioned I've never done this with my kids either. But if the multipack is paid for in the end I couldn't get worked up about this.
Very different story if it isn't paid for, obviously.

Too right! They shouldn't be sitting in the trolley, often with mucky hands ,shoes, leaky nappies and whatever else, where food will be placed! Indulgent parents who should know better!

Just keep a tube of dextrose tablets in his pockets and in the car at all times.

Exactly this. And surely if your child is diabetic you make sure you always have an appropriate drink and snack with you.

Because you are consuming it before you've paid for it! I should have thought that was obvious but very clearly not.

Edited as I know the comeback will be "but you eat things before you've paid for them in cafes etc". Yes you do, with the owner's consent. And a cafe isn't a shop.

Makes a change from fish fingers!

The same trolleys which are often outside exposed to bird poo etc? They are hardly going to be very clean anyway and most food has packaging.