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Original poster

Eating in the supermarket

416 replies

tallulah · 11/05/2003 11:48

As an aside from my other thread about children misbehaving in shops- the other thing that wound me up yesterday is this trend for letting children eat in the supermarket. The child in the trolley at the next till had a bag of grapes she'd been eating. She must have had 1/2 lb, so that's about 50p? Would her mother have thought it OK to give her, say, a twix, or a Begian Bun without paying for it?

I don't agree with this on 3 counts

  1. people shouldn't be eating in any shop & teaching a child that they can is not a good idea
  2. this is theft & if everyone did it then the supermarkets losses would be passed on to everyone
  3. children also should be taught that you can't have something until it's paid for.

Before you all jump on me and say it's better than having them screaming, I have got 4 myself & I have been through this. Mine quickly learned that no screaming inside meant they could get to eat a treat outside when we'd finished.

OP posts:
judetheobscure · 12/05/2003 19:35

if it was one or two grapes I wouldn't fuss, but my ds eats a bunch (he's a bit like edgar ) I can't not pay for that.

edgarcat · 12/05/2003 19:39

Message withdrawn

Bobsmum · 12/05/2003 19:45

Shall we exercise our democratic right and vote laydeez?

Yes eating food from trolleys is ok
No eating food from trolleys is not ok

and it's a from Bobsmum

whymummy · 12/05/2003 19:54

i say chop the mothers hands off!! the day before our local sainsburys closed for renovations people went in there thinking that meat,dairy products an fruit and veg would be cheaper,WRONG!,at the end of the day they took everything to the nearest sainsbury`s,greedy buggers!!

breeze · 12/05/2003 19:55

Has anyone actually seen a sigh saying do not eat any food until its paid for, because I know I have not.

yes I think that it is okay.

And for the record I wouldn't lose any sleep if ds had eaten 3 grapes. The amount these shops throw away for wastage is unbelievable. (yes I know its not the point before someone gets back on their soapbox)

XAusted · 12/05/2003 20:26

This thread gets funnier. Can't wait till Tallulah starts another one! Here's my vote.

Ghosty · 12/05/2003 20:42

... It IS OK ....

Clarinet60 · 12/05/2003 20:45

It is OK!

mammya · 12/05/2003 20:49

Tigermoth
And here's my vote:

WideWebWitch · 12/05/2003 20:54

My vote

willow2 · 12/05/2003 21:04

Sed - have you ever been clothes shopping and found something you liked so much that you decided to wear it then and there? If so you would, I presume, have gone up to the till wearing said item of clothing and then paid for it (unless, of course, you are some crazy exhibitionist who, having paid for the item of clothing, then stripped off and changed in to it mid-store). The only difference between this and items of food is that you would look very stupid wearing a packet of Quavers.

willow2 · 12/05/2003 21:04

Not suggesting that you personally would look stupid wearing a packet of Quavers - I don't think it is a look that does anyone any favours.

whymummy · 12/05/2003 21:05

YESYESYES

happyspider · 12/05/2003 21:11

I was in M&S today and again ate my sandwich and water while waiting at the till!
Is it wrong? I don't care, it would be worse if they had to lift me because I have fainted...at my current weight!
Again I paid, but I was very self conscious of all the mums around me, I am sure one of them winked at me as to give me her approval...
Eating in supermarkets will never be the same now!
My vote is :-) yes, as long as you pay at the end, it doesn't matter when you eat your food!

griffy · 12/05/2003 21:13

Not only is it OK - I'm beginning to think that it should be made compulsory!!

snickers · 12/05/2003 21:17

Flippin ell gals - talk about a winner of a thread...

My vote

Thought about you all in tescos today - wondered whether there were any other mumnsnutters around having a crisis of concience with me! So obviously went around to the grapes section - but there were none left, just a smattering of spat pips. The security staff looked fraught and there was a police van with dogs outside, and a set of stocks had to be setup to teach errant mums a lesson. However, overripe tomatoes had to be paid for before you could throw them...

Come on ladies. Let she who hath not sinned cast the first stone (tomato).

Chinchilla · 12/05/2003 21:23

This thread is great!

Mum2Toby - please stop SHOUTING all the time...my eyes are going woozy reading your posts (And for the record, I am not saying that you are a drama queen etc, as per the other thread, you're a great gal, just a bit EXCITABLE) This is a bit of fun by the way.

And...my vote is a big

I do not see a problem eating scannable food, but I would not do it myself.

Linnet · 12/05/2003 21:47

I have never fed my dd while walking around the supermarket. We always went shopping after lunch when she was little so she wasnt' hungry and she's not really the temper tantrum kind. I have seen people feeding their kids crisps or rolls etc. I don't see it as a problem so long as they pay for it at the end. Now dd is older she always tastes a grape or two. But she usually does that in M&S where they now have a small bunch or red and green grapes in a special little tasting tray so that you can taste them from there rather than out of the bags, great idea in my opinion.
And on the pegs issue my pegs used to be in a Harrods Carrier bag, posh or what? well I thought so, but it broke and now they are in a plain blue carrier bag,

tomps · 12/05/2003 21:54

Most toddlers are the perfect size for hiding a Posh Peg Bag behind while going through the checkout. Don't let them see it though or they might not be able to produce the required innocent expression if discovered. But I guess that depends on how many free chohcolates you've already bribed them with.

tomps · 12/05/2003 22:10

unsurprisingly a from mrs fagin

lilly72 · 12/05/2003 22:26

I have literally been hysterical reading about chopping hands off...tits in mouths and grape stealers. My daughter is 18 months old and I only yesterday shovelled in grapes to keep her quiet. She also ate some scannable cheese and some bread. She has previously had currant buns and crisps also. Thanks for a good laugh...I will be watching in the supermarket next time!

Original poster
tallulah · 12/05/2003 23:14

obviously

Still shocked at sheer volume of posts..

Lulu, I know we're all trying to be funny now, but after a year on prozac & 2 years of counselling for severe depression I found your little flip comment quite uncalled for. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, and you don't have to agree with me, but you don't know me or my background, so please, not so personal.

OP posts:
Mocha · 12/05/2003 23:43

I do my main shop online every fortnight as I don't drive. Our local Sainsburys used to have hand scanners, which I thought were brilliant; it meant that if I needed anything between deliveries I just scanned the items and put them straight under DD's pushchair. This facility is no longer available as not enough people were using it and I now have to balance the basket on top of the pushchair our push it one handed, which is not very easy. I think that they should have creches or provide secure areas for pushchairs to be left whilst we do our shopping.
Why don't we all bombard our local supermarkets with requests for creches for secure areas for pushchairs!!!!!:-):-):-):-)

Nattie · 13/05/2003 01:16

Goodness, there are a few knickers in twists. Judgementalism is on equal par to hypocrisy, IMO, as a deadly sin.

There seems to be an underlying objection to eating in public, which I've never understood, either.

What's the problem? If you don't like it, don't do it - but stop judging other parents who have different parenting tactics. It's NOT stealing as you're on your way to the checkout and the evidence is that the supermarkets actively encourage it - the cashiers at my local Tescos obviously expect it and take it in their stride.

My 2 year old dd snacks all the way through most mornings no matter how large or substantial her breakfast has been - which is normal in a 2 year old - I do the shop after I have dropped ds at school and it takes me up to 2 hours to do the weekly shop (I'm not a focussed shopper) so there's no way she'd last the trip without her blood sugar dropping out of control so, of course, I feed her and I refuse to take a bag full of pre-prepared stuff to a place that has shelves full of it. I don't feed her grapes as I don't want to have to deal with the resultant nappies (what on earth happens to the children who have scoffed a whole bunch?!). She usually snacks on marmite rice cakes and those cute boxes of raisins. And, of course, they all get paid for - not that I feel I have to justify myself to the nay-sayers.

Chill - there are more important things in life than counting how many grapes other people's children are eating.

suedonim · 13/05/2003 04:57

Hey, sounds like a cool cat, Edgarcat! What colour is he? We've had three rescue cats in our time and now have a 'kampung' or village inbred cat in Jakarta. Rescue cats all seem to have such great characters! This one (imaginatively named Lucky by his previous owners cos he's black, but we call him 'Scabby' ) is great; he enjoys biting us (memo to self: get rabies jag organised) when he is not stuffing his face with food. We have a tabby and a Persian cat at home. She's 13 and a dumb blonde; spends most of her day staring at the wall!

And to get back on topic, to eating in the supermarket for me personally but for those who do, so long as sticky hands don't get wiped on me!