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

[Njuy]

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.

YABU for expecting good behaviour from children anymore. There are all kinds of reasons and research that support their need to scream, tantrum, scoot around shops and all kinds of other antisocial crap.
It's the way of the world now 🤷🏾‍♀️.

Yes, but not all parents with small kids do this. 🤷‍♀️

You went to the shop at the time of day when the parents have finished work and the kids are just out of nursery and after school club…they are tired.

If there’s ever a screaming or whining child behind me in the supermarket queue, I turn on my Scary Eyes. Very effective they are, too. 😈

My town must be something of an outlier: here, screaming kids seem to be more of an issue in Waitrose than in Tesco.

It's possible that it just seems that way though, as my local Tesco is a lot bigger than the Waitrose and doesn't get as crowded.

The screaming children thing on here confuses me. I've literally never been anywhere where all the children were screaming.

Anyway next time I go to Tesco I'll just lock the weans in the car boot and hope for the best.

Well done for finally getting that it is not the occasional tantrums that people are referring too.

This is why people hate gentle parenting 🤣. Well done for using constraint to help your darlings self regulate, but while they are learning to self regulate how about some consideration for those of us in your immediate vicinity? The world does not revolve around you.

Absolutely. Waitrose is where the screeching Tuppences are to be found. In my experience.

Clearly don’t live near me then. There is a family with small children on either side of me (I live in a flat block) they screech (not scream and tantrum - screech) constantly. Family in my other flat block? Screeching child. In the b&m? Screeching children. Parents don’t give a shit. I’m sick and tired of hearing screeching little kids everywhere I go and I can’t escape it at home or shopping!

15 children all screaming. It didn’t happen did it.

I hardly ever go to supermarkets but restaurants i love

My almost two year old thought it was hilarious to shriek in Morrisons recently. The more I would shush or ask her not to added to the fun so I tried to ignore so that she got bored. I think this is what a lot of parents resort to with very young children who don’t really care or understand about consequences yet. So your perceived lack of care from the parents may be them pretending not to care.

I did manage to distract her in the end by giving her a bag of fresh pasta to hold.

No, but if other options are available why take them at all?

If it's two storey, have you pointed them in the direction of the escalators?

My kids don't scream in supermarkets because they're too busy having fun going up and down the escalators.

And if they get bored of the escalators, there are always the lifts...

My kids love an afternoon out at the supermarket. It's top family fun and free, which helps with COL.

But I wouldn't ever buy any pick 'n mix from our local one tbh. I've seen too many little hands in there..😅

It's nice for kids to see where their food comes from.

Yes, I know some would argue school farm trips are more educational in this regard but my DC's school doesn't go on one until Y5 and in any case as city kids they're not going to be slaughtering their own food anytime soon.

I swear everytime I go into Homebargains there is a child just screeching for what seems the shits and giggles while a parent just pushes the trolly around without a single care in the world it would seem.

Big Tesco as well the other month a whole family 3 kids 2 adults and yet again screech.

Like seriously it’s not fucking soft play and even then I don’t expect screeching children.

But parents dngaf these days about their precious petunia being a loud gob.

It's a difficult one because people don't have a lot of consideration for children and families any more either. For example, my kids are regularly barged into and then people say accusingly to me, 'well, I couldn't see them down there' (as opposed to apologizing) 😂. It actually makes me laugh how rude a lot of people are, and my kids find it funny now as well. I do actually try to teach my children not to get in the way of other people and to consider their needs, but it's hard to insist on a very high degree of politeness from them towards others when society as a whole has become ruder and louder.

You are quite right, perhaps have a word with the manager and see if they can put a sign up saying please leave children tied to the post outside as Njury doesn’t want them in the store while she nips in for 5 minutes.

I would suggest maybe going when they are in bed if you’re still sober.
Or perhaps it’s a marketing ploy and they play loud recordings of babies crying near the alcohol isle so you will buy that bottle you didn’t want?

This is me every time I go into Primark

Perhaps occasionally but every time more hassle than its worth

No nor me. Guess what? My kids never screamed anywhere.

Same with the children who always have to be eating in the shops something from the shop.

A mum from nursery had twins and they always screamed the place down till she would grab crisps off the shelf and let them eat them.

So then when she did grow a bit of a back bone they were so used to her giving in it was horrible. I refused to go in the shops sometimes if I saw her heading in. I’d wait it out at a local park.

Letting bad habits set in is a rod for your own. Ack.

We were apparently perfectly behaved as children... never screamed, never annoyed anyone, could sit for hours in restaurants. I'm not sure I believe it but that's what my mother tells me...🙄.

Quite randomly, she said to me a few days ago that she regrets always being so worried about what other people thought of us and our behaviour, because it used to constantly stress her out so she didn't enjoy parenting, and a lot of people are inconsiderate arses anyway whose opinions don't matter.

I wouldn't take it as far as this but I don't really stress over my kids' behaviour. That's not the same as no consequences though. If they're annoying, I threaten to lock them in the cellar with no food and let rats nibble their toes.

When you see a child having a tantrum or ‘misbehaving’ how do you know it’s not an occasional tantrum? Unless you know the child? Presumably this is the first time you’ve seen said child