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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why parents give their children food in supermarkets when it is not yet paid for?

535 replies

purplepeony · 21/12/2009 18:50

Do you?

is your child so hungry that you have to grab a frnech stick, break bits off and feed it to them then present the empty packet at the checkout?

Are mums so disorganised that they cannot feed teir child before they shop?

Are they keen to feed (ha!) the "I want it now" mentality?

It really annoys me when I see this going on, asit means kids grow up not being able to wait one second from asking to being given.

OP posts:
christmasgoblin · 21/12/2009 20:32

why would anyone exercise herself over other people's super market behaviour? it isn't your food, your kitchen or your business.

i bet you twitch your curtains too.

ClenchedBottom · 21/12/2009 20:33

Aaaargh, I didn't phrase the tantrum thing right - I know what I mean anyway! - it's the whole 'giving in for the quiet life' thing.

shonaspurtle · 21/12/2009 20:33

Is this actually about eating in public? I know there's a generation that thinks this is the height of bad manners . Maybe the pay-first thing is a red herring and it's all about the horror of seeing a two year old eating slices of apple practically in the street .

So, if I went to the till, paid for the snack pack of apples & grapes and then did the rest of my shopping would that be ok?

Would I have to wave about my receipt as I shopped to avoid the cat's bum mouths?

GhoulsAreLoud · 21/12/2009 20:33

I think it would depend on how the item was offered clenchedbottom (appropriate name by the way!) giving a hungry toddler something to eat is probably a bit different than handing over a packet of biscuits to a 5 yr old who demands them.

shonaspurtle · 21/12/2009 20:35

And yes, I do it for an easy life sometimes if ds is in a particular mood. I'm far from the perfect mother.

He never gets 50p for the ride-on though.

BellsandSmells · 21/12/2009 20:35

2kidz said:

"And they do not think they 'can have anything they want anytime they want it' because they know that everything has to be paid for, and if it can't be paid for, then it cannot be had."

Do they also know that "genuine thirst" is a rare thing in the developed world and that waiting till you get out of the shop to open your Fruit Shoot won't actually kill you?

Pull the other one - you give them stuff in the supermarket because they demand it and because if you don't they kick off. Despite apparently behaving like angels in all other areas of life

By the way, they only demand it because they can see it, not because they are nutritionally deficient. Ever heard the expression "kid in a sweetshop"?

You don't always know when your children will be hungry??? How about breakfast, lunch and dinner...

everlong · 21/12/2009 20:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thedogsgottago · 21/12/2009 20:37

I do it, dont think Im creating a little "I want it now" monster, he isnt aloud something just cos he wants it the majority of the time, but when you're in the middle of asda and they are screaming they're heads off, and getting evils from people (who probably disaprove of children eating food before its been paid for) then it seems the best option. I pay for it, they're my kids, whats it to anyone else?

golgi · 21/12/2009 20:37

those ride-ons are always broken........aren't they?

potatofactory · 21/12/2009 20:38

oh, get lost. So you're the judgemental one, tutting. I pay for the food. None of your business. Get lost.

GhoulsAreLoud · 21/12/2009 20:38

Where's the OP?

Bellsandsmells are you the OP?

defyinggravity · 21/12/2009 20:39

Does this just apply to food? Because I have been known to give my ds a little toy car from asda. I've taken it out of the packet and let him play with it while sitting in the trolley and handed the packaging with barcode intact to the cashier at the till to pay for it. Last week, I bought my ds a Thomas hat and he insisted on wearing it round the shop. Does that make me a naughty thieving bad Mummy?

EmilyStrange · 21/12/2009 20:39

I do it all the time, every time in fact and my dcs were pronounced to be extremely well-behaved and a pleasure to teach at Parent's night so boo sucks to you. (this level of pompusness deserves only childish tongue sticking out retorts.)

Oh and I make sure I give them fruit shoots from a multi-pack and the greasiest sausage rolls I can find followed by sherbet dips.

Do you have nothing better to get uppity about? Sometimes the sanctimonious opinions on this forum absolutely astound me. It never occured to me that people would be judging me as I walk around the supermarket, tired, bored and pushed for time.

RainRainGoAway · 21/12/2009 20:40

So. The Climate Change discussions have collapsed in Copenhagen.

Anyhow, more important things. I ALWAYS give my Ds stuff to eat on the way around Waitrose. And I will now grin whilst I do it knowing I am pissing off about 5% of the posters here.

SantieMaggie · 21/12/2009 20:41

Paolosgirl - so giving your children drinks and food you haven't paid for is better even though you could prepare for that? Whereas I have a medical condition that should be under control but on one occasion wasn't?

therednosedcariboo · 21/12/2009 20:42

This is a joke, right? Who the hell cares?

Flightattendant · 21/12/2009 20:43

Bellsandsmells is probably a troll, probably a well known one with a false beard on...sounds like a resident...anyway...

I have a theory that nearly all tantrums are due to hunger. It works nearly every time, giving him something to eat.

mistletoekisses · 21/12/2009 20:43

I regularly drink a bottle of mineral water as I shop.

DS has been given food before paying for it.

And where do we stand with letting DS starting to read his peppa pig magazine before paying for it? Is that crossing a line?

Plus - and this will really annoy you. I time my supermarket shop to coincide with snack time . shock horror. because DS sits in the trolley quite contentedly for 20 mins or so, munching on his crackers and I get to shop in peace!

It does not mean kids not waiting one second from asking to being given.In most other environments, you can distract a child/ tell them they need to wait etc. etc.
But when they are trapped in a trolley, with a one track mind, why on earth would I encourage a tantrum? Pick your battles is my motto.

I have money. I will pay for everything in my trolley. That is not a battle I am fighting.

YABU

golgi · 21/12/2009 20:43

gravity I think it must be a food thing.

OP and other tutters - is it OK to bring own food to give children as you shop? Or is it just stuff that is picked from the shelves that's not on?

If you saw me feeding my children banana chips today how would you know whether I'd brought them with me or not and does it make a difference?

ClenchedBottom · 21/12/2009 20:43

RainRain - so it's nothing to do with his sudden unpredictable hunger that can't wait a second then, just part of your routine?

Hmmmmm

welshone51 · 21/12/2009 20:43

I have never done it although I do bring certain snacks and drinks for my son to consume on the way round as I know shopping can be long tedious and stressful for small children and often their mums too!
I dont agree that by doing this it is going to cause future problems for children at all it just that it is not something I have done up to this point and how hungry can a child be that he/she cant wait until the food is purchased at the till!

MrsMattie · 21/12/2009 20:44

Do it all the time. YANBU though, just a bit dull.

flockwallpaper · 21/12/2009 20:45

As long as the food isn't stolen, I don't care what other people do.

Paolosgirl · 21/12/2009 20:45

I was being sarcastic AuntieMaggie.

pooexplosionsonthedustyroad · 21/12/2009 20:46

Aren't all toddlers unable to wait for anything grabby little constantly hungry whingers when doing boring things like food shopping?
Delayed gratification? For two year olds? On what planet have you met any of them?
Were all parents perfect 20 years ago then, or just the OP?

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