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Original poster

AIBU to be fed up with screaming children in the supermarket?

233 replies

Njuy · 09/09/2026 18:55

I went to the supermarket about half an hour ago and OMFG! Every child was screaming. There were at least 15 children aged (guessing) 18 months - 9 years old. Not one parent was bothered.

I was in the store for 5 mins

I was planning to have an alcohol free evening. Not anymore.

OP posts:
whatcanthematterbe81 · 09/09/2026 22:00

I’m baffled by the number of people saying they see this. My kids are not angels, far from it. They fight, they answer me back sometimes etc… but a tantrum in a supermarket, so bad they’re screaming and people are driven to drink…. That seems crazy to me. And honestly not being a “snob”, i understand bad behaviour and how this might happen occasionally but for this to be a regular thing makes me think I’m living in a parallel universe. Maybe my kids are not that bad after all 😂

Newyearawaits · 09/09/2026 22:08

Thesearenotthedroidsyouarelookingfor · 09/09/2026 18:59

Meh it’s a supermarket you’re were in and out in five minutes. Not your circus not your monkeys. Kindly get a grip of yourself.
Mine are young adults so screaming kids in shop just makes me smile because at least they’re not mine!

Edited

This entirely.
I don't know a single parent who hasn't experienced a baby /young child crying /screaming in a public place.
Makes it worse when people watch and stare.

Newyearawaits · 09/09/2026 22:10

Fairyyqueen · 09/09/2026 19:29

Nope, tantrums are a normal part of development, when a child has a tantrum they are in a high stress state and cannot reason or listen, the best thing for parents to do is stay calm, be there for them but essentially ignore them (in the nicest way possible, be there but don’t react) this is how children learn to self regulate, children borrow their parents calm, so it might look like parents aren’t doing anything but actually that’s the best thing to do! Intervening for the sake of strangers will actually make it worse. eventually children will stop having tantrums. I don’t know what you mean by ‘not standing for it’ but fear can temporarily stop tantrums but it won’t teach a child how to manage their emotions, quite the opposite. Parents should do what is in the best interest of their child, not what strangers would like them to do so that strangers can be more comfortable.

Show quote history

This 100pc
Thank you for your excellent response

ratatouillemousesqueak · 09/09/2026 22:11

I think for 5 mins to buy 3 items you could cope?!

sounds like a load of tired kids and parents who are grabbing stuff for tea. At least you can go home to quiet.

Newyearawaits · 09/09/2026 22:12

CoffeeandCakeBreak · 09/09/2026 20:07

Shop in Waitrose. The children don't scream in there.

I have to pop into an Asda sometimes and it's a completely different experience there. Some of the adults are as bad as the children!

(Asdas in other parts of the country might be different perhaps, but my local one, next to a Waitrose is hideous)

You are joking, right?

madaboutpurple · 09/09/2026 22:12

I suggest asking them to sing a nursery rhyme instead although if the child doesn't know any that is not much help.

MissyPants · 09/09/2026 22:15

🤣

Itllbereadysoon · 09/09/2026 22:15

TheGirlWhoLived · 09/09/2026 19:11

Bet it wasn’t Waitrose

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One of the loudest and rudest children I ever witnessed kicking off was in Waitrose. The parent was running after him gently calling his name......it would've been hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic.

lazyarse123 · 09/09/2026 22:16

Fairyyqueen · 09/09/2026 19:09

Children scream, they’re children, they can’t self regulate, parents should actually stay calm and wait for the child to settle down on their own, it might look like ‘parents can’t be arsed’ but actually intervening often makes it works and children need to learn to regulate themselves, hence the term self regulation.

They can self regulate at home. I had 3 and only once did one of them carry on in a supermarket. They didn't scream while playing in the garden either. There's absolutely no need.

FunnyOrca · 09/09/2026 22:19

MademoisellePraline · 09/09/2026 19:05

Yes it gets my goat too. I have 3DC, two with additional needs. None of them scream and screech like some parents just allow. Before people jump on the "oh but you don't know if they have additional needs" the statistics say that that they most likely don't. But for fear of not wanting to be accused of being discriminatory, people can't just call it for what it is the majority of the time. Shit parenting.

You'll always get someone letting their kids act like the poster child for asbo, insisting "it's just what children do.". No no. It's what some children are allowed to do because their parents have no respect or consideration for their surroundings or anyone else in the vicinity.

When I see children distressed in the supermarket, I always see the parents parenting hard. Children get upset sometimes and are loud. It doesn’t mean their parents are shit.

PressTheSwitch · 09/09/2026 22:20

@Njuy can’t believe other people’s screaming children drove you to drink! You are obviously already on the tip of the iceberg and just needed a gentle push.

PyongyangKipperbang · 09/09/2026 22:29

All these people banging on about ND kids and the OP "needing" a drink.

What if the OP is ND? It is very hard on a ND person no matter what age you are, and triggers (and self soothing) often changes with age.

ETA after a bit of googling, alcohol use is a known self soothing mechanism in older or undiagnosed autistic people.

cupfinalchaos · 09/09/2026 22:30

Sounds like hell op I’m with you.

FFSItsTooHot · 09/09/2026 22:37

MellowSubmarine · 09/09/2026 19:03

Every child?

I genuinely can’t remember the last time I saw a child screaming in the supermarket.

You are very lucky! These days I can't get on a bus,or go in a supermarket or cafe/coffee shop without there being at least one screaming kid. I was on a bus today when a child getting on walked past me and let out the most ear piercing screech just as she was level with my ear. Not a baby,or even a toddler who probably wouldn't know better,but a child of about 4 or 5. When I jumped,her mother just laughed. Ha ha ha very funny.

Wineryvinery · 09/09/2026 22:38

I’m hoping they’re gone back to school. Supermarkets are not playgrounds.

Morepositivemum · 09/09/2026 23:10

Work in a supermarket and am normally fine with noise but totally yes to this some days- it’s like it’s a playground with kids screaming, happily or having meltdowns. There was one day I faked having to go to the bathroom and sat upstairs for a few minutes with the worst headache.

I get that you don’t want things to disintegrate further sometimes or you’re afraid that people might judge, but sometimes it’s hard to take. The worst is when it’s happening and there’s a family and you’re thinking please take the child out but both parents still stand in the queue and then unpack and pack with the kids going mad around them. I know we all want kids to experience everything but I do agree that sometimes kids should stay home with the other parent or the parent should go while the kids are in school for example

bittertwisted · 09/09/2026 23:18

I’d rather screaming than the ‘performative parent’ treating the shop as a learning experience/ opportunity to tell everyone what an amazing diet their kids have.

moonraker0 · 09/09/2026 23:44

TheGirlWhoLived · 09/09/2026 19:10

I guarantee you that there is no one more fed up of the child screaming than its parents

Also yabu that 5 minutes of crying makes you need an alcoholic drink, do you think mothers are just wasted all the time?

I guarantee you that retail staff are more fed up because it’s probably the 12th little darling we’ve had to endure in a day.

Fairyyqueen · 10/09/2026 06:38

lazyarse123 · 09/09/2026 22:16

They can self regulate at home. I had 3 and only once did one of them carry on in a supermarket. They didn't scream while playing in the garden either. There's absolutely no need.

Edited
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No, children can’t pick and choose when to self regulate, even yours

OonaStubbs · 10/09/2026 06:40

Supermarkets should have adult only days where we can go shopping without being tormented by screaming brats.

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 10/09/2026 06:59

MademoisellePraline · 09/09/2026 19:05

Yes it gets my goat too. I have 3DC, two with additional needs. None of them scream and screech like some parents just allow. Before people jump on the "oh but you don't know if they have additional needs" the statistics say that that they most likely don't. But for fear of not wanting to be accused of being discriminatory, people can't just call it for what it is the majority of the time. Shit parenting.

You'll always get someone letting their kids act like the poster child for asbo, insisting "it's just what children do.". No no. It's what some children are allowed to do because their parents have no respect or consideration for their surroundings or anyone else in the vicinity.

How do parents ‘just allow’
how do you stop a child who is mid tantrum? What punishment or threat or clever technique works?
other than moving away from the place - people need to eat food though so sometimes just leaving the food shop isn’t possible. No one is more stressed by a screaming child than a parent.
(unless you’re talking about playful silly screaming in which case I agree they should be reminded about which volume of voice to choose when inside)

Fairyyqueen · 10/09/2026 08:21

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 10/09/2026 06:59

How do parents ‘just allow’
how do you stop a child who is mid tantrum? What punishment or threat or clever technique works?
other than moving away from the place - people need to eat food though so sometimes just leaving the food shop isn’t possible. No one is more stressed by a screaming child than a parent.
(unless you’re talking about playful silly screaming in which case I agree they should be reminded about which volume of voice to choose when inside)

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Exactly, it’s like getting annoyed because a 2 month old baby is crying, no shit Sherlock, babies cry. Toddlers throw tantrums. If it’s bad behaviour and parents aren’t doing anything then ok I can understand being annoyed, but bad behaviour and temper tantrums are completely different

Wineryvinery · 10/09/2026 08:45

bittertwisted · 09/09/2026 23:18

I’d rather screaming than the ‘performative parent’ treating the shop as a learning experience/ opportunity to tell everyone what an amazing diet their kids have.

You can easily move away from the performative parent - the screaming child can be heard across the biggest supermarkets. Last time it was about a five year old wanting a gun, the child tantrumed for a good 10 min about no being allowed a gun, now that could have been taken outside, it eventually was but it was bloody painful. Time before that it was primary school age kids screaming and running around a supermarket, it's not a playground. It's not acceptable - they should have been taken outside.

Screamingabdabz · 10/09/2026 08:56

I agree with you op. And it’s not about ‘regulation’, what bullshit.

There is a difference between a genuinely distressed child (which should be relatively unusual given that the parent should’ve prepared properly for a shopping trip so a child isn’t ill, hurt, hungry, thirsty, overwhelmed etc) and a child just making noise at the top of its lungs for fun, or screaming because it’s never learned the word no.

The majority of the screaming I am forced to hear around Tesco is 90% the result of gormless and inconsiderate parenting.

Greenseacat · 10/09/2026 09:05

I am fed up with screaming children in supermarkets, shops, buses, trains, and coffee shops!

I know children can't help it but what annoys me is the parents who make no attempt to try to calm their kids down and/or distract them.

That's my issue.

I remember being on a bus with a screaming child old enough to be told to calm down and both parents were sitting there playing with their phone and just letting it happen.

Then because people on the bus were turning around to see why the child kept screaming the parents started mouthing off and having a go at them for looking at their child! an argument started with several of the passengers, including an elderly lady and the father threatened to start punching people.

That's an extreme example but it shows that some parents these days don't give a damn about trying to pacify their kids and teaching them how to behave and just expect people to put up with it.

So I have a lot of sympathy for parents who do their best but none for the lazy, entitled ones.