My dd2 was called a BRAT today @Walmart:(

[ols386]

Op....I'm sorry that woman was so mean and rude. Really no excuse for it, in my opinion.

If I'm in a public place, and a child is being noisy, crying, throwing a fit, whatever, I try not to pay any attention to it. Yes, I hear it, but I'm certainly not going to confront the parent(s) over it, that's not my place, nor is it any of my business.

Alot of it is about 'tolerance'. Some people in our society have no tolerance for anyone, even children. The thing is, if you are in a place like Walmart, and a child near you is being noisy, and it bothers you so much....move away from it. Walmart is a huge store.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't think comparing being on a plane to being in Walmart is even remotely the same thing. You cannot get off a plane. You can leave Walmart.
I can't stand parents who think that everyone has to listen to their kids screeching etc. I don't care if it was just to hear herself. It is rude and annoying. While I don't think it makes a child a brat it certainly is bratty behavior. Yes, I am a Mother. Yes, my kids have misbehaved. That is where I as the parent come in and fix the situation. They do not have a right to annoy everyone just because they are kids.

 

[Jennasis]

Hmmm..not sure WHY we're even discussing this anymore. The OP is "outty" remember. Im sure she hasn't come back to read any more responses...

 

[KAMKIM]

Bratty adults bother me more than bratty kids

 

[Jennasis]

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Bratty adults bother me more than bratty kids

I agree. In this case I think the OP was being the brat for not doing something about her child's screeching.

 

[Darsa]

Hmmm..not sure WHY we're even discussing this anymore. The OP is "outty" remember. Im sure she hasn't come back to read any more responses...

Two reasons: because there's always that chance that she's still reading responses and because we, as a group, are apparently unable to let things go and move on

 

[Jennasis]

This one's even better

 

[damo]

If the parent was attempting to get the child to behave and the child was not cooperating, then I tend to be sympathetic to the parent but when the parent is doing absolutely nothing to stop the child from being annoying, then I get annoyed. I would never say anything but I certainly would think it. I wonder how many people in the store were thinking worse things about the mother than about the child and wondering how on earth would she manage once the child was a teenager.

 

[ols386]

I don't think comparing being on a plane to being in Walmart is even remotely the same thing. You cannot get off a plane. You can leave Walmart.
I can't stand parents who think that everyone has to listen to their kids screeching etc. I don't care if it was just to hear herself. It is rude and annoying. While I don't think it makes a child a brat it certainly is bratty behavior. Yes, I am a Mother. Yes, my kids have misbehaved. That is where I as the parent come in and fix the situation. They do not have a right to annoy everyone just because they are kids.

Was a plane mentioned in one of these posts? If so, I missed it.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

My son has had his "moments" in Wal-Mart and luckily for me, I get the oh he's not too bad or isn't he precious? I'm thankful for that, because mommy is thinking....BRAT! Don't let other people's ignorance get you down. That's just our world today.

I also need to point out that the one time my son had an all out fit, I backed out of the store (Wal-Mart) and went to the car til he calmed down. No one else should have to listen to what gives me headaches on a regular basis. All in all, I have a good boy and most of his tantrums I can control before it gets out of hand. Even in the library today when I picked him up and he hit me, I looked at him and said knock it off or we'll go. He knocked it off....along with a few books on the shelf. He was playing of course and I giggled as I picked them up.

 

[KAMKIM]

I agree. In this case I think the OP was being the brat for not doing something about her child's screeching.

You should hear some of the screeching that goes on in this office - all but me are 50+ years old....it's a shame

 

[KAMKIM]

OP - I have been where you are, I take my kids out of the store or if DH is with us - they go and sit in the truck.

Now, with that said you CANNOT let other people make you feel bad about how you parent your kids.

With all the stress and decisions that are involved in being a parent 24/7 the last thing on my mind at any given time is what others think of me or my children - I do not have the time or energy to care.

You cannot and will not make everyone happy when it comes to your parenting decisions - it's a game you will never win, not on the Dis, not in Walmart.

 

[Carly_Roach]

Op, your OP and follow-ups tell me that you are way too sensitive. Get a thicker skin! Also, the world does NOT revolve around you and your screeching DD. You should have removed her from the situation. Maybe YOU should be the one shopping online.

BTW, I think the lady was wrong as well but so were you.

I absolutely agree with this. The lady may have been wrong in approaching you and making a remark, but she was right in her opinion that your child was making everyone else within earshot uncomfortable.

Just because you have children, that doesn't mean you and your experience trumps the experience of everyone else around you. No one is obligated to make your life easier just because you chose to have children. I'm not sure where you got that idea but it simply isn't true.

And if the child you're responsible for is disrupting those around him or her, then you as the parent have to either take control of that child and stop the disruption, or remove that child from the vicinity of others who are being disrupted.

Sorry, but you're wrong. Engaging in an argument with someone at a store who wasn't appreciative of your sweet 2-y/o's "screaming to hear herself scream" is just another example of an entitlement attitude gone nuclear. The fact that you seem a bit hysterical on this thread over other adults who may have agreed (and were totally respectful in their posts) with the woman in the store merely confirms it for me.

I see many of these altercations and breakdowns in your future. I wish you the best of luck. I'm outty.

 

[KAMKIM]

I absolutely agree with this. The lady may have been wrong in approaching you and making a remark, but she was right in her opinion that your child was making everyone else within earshot uncomfortable.

Just because you have children, that doesn't mean you and your experience trumps the experience of everyone else around you. No one is obligated to make your life easier just because you chose to have children. I'm not sure where you got that idea but it simply isn't true.

And if the child you're responsible for is disrupting those around him or her, then you as the parent have to either take control of that child and stop the disruption, or remove that child from the vicinity of others who are being disrupted.

Sorry, but you're wrong. Engaging in an argument with someone at a store who wasn't appreciative of your sweet 2-y/o's "screaming to hear herself scream" is just another example of an entitlement attitude gone nuclear. The fact that you seem a bit hysterical on this thread over other adults who may have agreed (and were totally respectful in their posts) with the woman in the store merely confirms it for me.

I see many of these altercations and breakdowns in your future. I wish you the best of luck. I'm outty.

No one is obligated to make it any harder either....

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Was a plane mentioned in one of these posts? If so, I missed it.

If you read through quite a few people mentioned that they were on a plane and their child was screaming and they couldn't just leave. Basically saying that the Mom couldn't just leave Walmart. Two completely different scenarios.

 

[Scurvy]

Was a plane mentioned in one of these posts? If so, I missed it.

Yes, though I agree with Mouse House Mama that there's really no comparison.

Once we were on a plane to WDW, and my 4 month old decided he needed to scream and cry at the top of his lungs. What were our options? Jump out of the plane? I was trying my very best to soothe him and NOTHING worked.

Finally after people made some rude comments, my dh stood up and said ( I cant recall exactly, but it was something like this) "Look, we are very sorry. We want him to shut up too, but he won't. He's 4 months old. There's not alot we can do. I apologize for disrupting the flight, but if any of you can make him quit screaming please feel free to do so."


One person actually said "Have you tried giving him a bottle or pacifier?" lol. No lady, we didn't think of that. Thanks.

Was this in the check-out line? If not - and I was the woman who was being annoyed by the loud noise, I would have moved away from it..

Kids screech, scream, cry, and throw temper tantrums in WDW all the time.. Do the parents get on a plane and take them home?..

No, but they do often take them back to the hotel room if they aren't behaving themselves well enough to enjoy the parks.

Guess I'm just looking at this from a different angle.. When something is annoying me, then it's my responsibility to remove myself from the annoying situation.. Of course there are times when you can't do this - like when you're stuck in an airplane - but in most cases, it's doable..

Most Walmarts are pretty large and unless they were grid locked in the check-out line, the woman could have zipped away to a quieter area for a minute or two or at the very least - if she just "had" to voice her opinion - she could have chosen her words a little more carefully.. It wasn't a "polite" request - it was passive-aggressive and meant to be nasty..

Just my opinion, of course..

I agree that some of what the woman said was uncalled for, but it sounds to me like she was frustrated. First she asked the OP to control her child - so presumably the OP wasn't attempting to do so before that. Then the OP wasn't apologetic but instead got angry, which escalated the situation.

As for moving away, I agree to a point. On the other hand, maybe the woman was already finished with her shopping in other areas of the store and it would have cost her significantly more time if she left the area where the OP and her child were. Screeching is annoying and carries surprisingly well, so it's possible she would have had to go more than a few aisles away to escape the sound. If the OP had been apologetic and had tried to calm her child it might have made a huge difference in how the woman reacted. And as many of us have stated, there's a pretty big difference between a situation where a parent is trying their absolute best to calm a child who is having a meltdown and one where the parent feels their child has a right to screech in the store. Behavior that is annoying from one parent and child can become intolerable from another parent and child, just because of the attitude involved.

In a situation like the one in the OP, it seems fair to expect that most shoppers would be annoyed by a child who wouldn't stop screeching. It doesn't seem reasonable to think that all the other shoppers should have to leave the area to avoid it. It makes far more sense to me that the OP should remove her child until she is ready/able to behave in a manner that is more appropriate for a public place.

 

[Carly_Roach]

No one is obligated to make it any harder either....

Never said that. Never even implied that. In fact, what I said was:

The lady may have been wrong in approaching you and making a remark, but she was right in her opinion that your child was making everyone else within earshot uncomfortable.

I also agree with C.Ann who said she'd move if she were uncomfortable. That's typically my reaction to these kinds of situations in stores as well. Unfortunately, when you've moved to the other side of the store and can still hear the child, the question now becomes:

Do you allow the car alarm to continue going off or do you ask the owner of said car alarm to either shut the dang thing off or take the car alarm out of the vicinity?

 

[Nancyg56]

No one is obligated to make it any harder either....

I agree that no one should make parenting harder but I find it offensive that there are some who feel that if their children should be allowed to disrupt those around tehm simply becasue they can. In this case the Op stated that the "screaming to her herself screaming" child was annoying. Why on Earth is that acceptable? I agree that the woman was out of line calling the child a brat but I wonder how long it took her before she asked the OP to control the child.
The OP made it more difficult when she engaged the woman in a snippy discussion. She could have simply apologized and moved on.

I have raised three children, hauled countless nieces and nephews shopping and would be embarrassed beyond belief if any of their behaviors drove someone to that measure.

Babies shriek, they have found their voices and they love to use them. It is up to the parents to teach them to temper that exuberance when they are in public. By the time those children are two they should understand "shhhh". I watch a little one year old and already her Mom is teaching her that she needs to use her "indoor" voice. What those who love her find amusing (translate that to What I find amusing) is not going to be cute to strangers trapped in the same building as her when she is shrieking at the top of her cute little lungs.

I absolutely agree with this. The lady may have been wrong in approaching you and making a remark, but she was right in her opinion that your child was making everyone else within earshot uncomfortable.

Just because you have children, that doesn't mean you and your experience trumps the experience of everyone else around you. No one is obligated to make your life easier just because you chose to have children. I'm not sure where you got that idea but it simply isn't true.

And if the child you're responsible for is disrupting those around him or her, then you as the parent have to either take control of that child and stop the disruption, or remove that child from the vicinity of others who are being disrupted.

Sorry, but you're wrong. Engaging in an argument with someone at a store who wasn't appreciative of your sweet 2-y/o's "screaming to hear herself scream" is just another example of an entitlement attitude gone nuclear. The fact that you seem a bit hysterical on this thread over other adults who may have agreed (and were totally respectful in their posts) with the woman in the store merely confirms it for me.

I see many of these altercations and breakdowns in your future. I wish you the best of luck. I'm outty.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[marlynnp]

I too think the OP is a brat.

And if she would've left with the screecher as quickly as she left this thread, there may not have been an issue!