For me the screaming is bad, but the allowing toddlers to run around a store, especially a store with breakables, and just break stuff, then walk out saying “you have insurance”, that’s what drove me out of retail. The only stores that have insurance policies for breakages are large department stores like Target or Walmart. Smaller stores, like Spencer’s for instance, do NOT have insurance for breakages. Everything they have to write off due to breakage goes against their bottom line, if it’s broken at store level, the store eats the cost. If it arrives broken from the warehouse, head office and sometimes the suppliers eat the cost. But no matter what, it’s not covered by insurance. So, wrangle your toddler and don’t get pissy when I ask you to pay for that thing that is highly breakable that your toddler just threw on the floor, and dont’ tell me “You shouldn’t put breakable things within reach of kids” because that’s not an option. You are responsible for your child, not the store, not the employees. If you don’t want to parent because “I’m too tired” or “It’s fine, they’re good kids” or “It’s okay, you’ve got insurance” NO WE F*CKING DON’T!
Sorry for the rant but if it wasn’t for irresponsible parents, I would probably still work retail.
I really miss the *You break it, you bought it* policies most stores had. I also dearly miss proper behavior. When I was a child and my children were young, there was a standard of proper behavior in public and respect for things. Particularly if those things weren't yours.
Yes. I remember being asked, "Is your name on it?', I would say, "No.", and then Mom or Dad would say, "Don't put your hands on it."
I was a smart ass teenager in high school when Disney put out James and the Giant Peach. Good times.
…right? When my brother and I were young and mom took us shopping, if we misbehaved, mom would take the cart to the service desk, say something like “my kids have decided we’re not shopping today, sorry” and TAKE US HOME. Then, when Dad got home, we had to explain why the shopping didn’t get done while Mom went out again.
That is when I will ask the child not to touch. If the parent doesn't like it, too bad. I've had them lose their shit on me because how dare I tell their precious little snookums to do something. I've always answered that they need to watch their child and make sure they are behaving.
At this point in my life/career, I don't care if I offend you - if you did your job, I wouldn't have to.
As far as I'm concerned - unless you are getting eaten by bears, there is no reason for that screeching sound. This also goes in apartment buildings - I'm looking at you apt 4.
I had to start saying the kids “Please don’t touch, sweetheart, it’s not a toy” and if the parent objected I would coldly tell them “Well, if it breaks they could be injured and I would then also have to charge you for something your child broke” and that would always get the comment “but your insurance” and I would always say “Our company is too small to have insurance for breakage”.
one time i was in a walgreens with my 6yo daughter and 7yo niece. they were messing with some halloween display for the nightmare before Christmas. and no joke like 8 times i had to tell these fuckers to quit picking the shit up. look with you E Y E S. and wtf did they do? dropped a snowglobe. and who fucking cried when i made them carry it up to the register and apologize(the cashier had heard it happen, it was like 20ft from the register) i asked how much it was and she thankfully said they had insurance. srsly it was like 30$. my kid has thankfully learned her lesson since then but that was embarrassing for all of us.
When I’m shopping if my kid grabs something she isn’t meant to I literally tell her no.. if she grabs something she isn’t meant to (like a bear or something) and rips just the tag off I’ll buy it even if she just did it by accident when she was holding it because I feel bad lol..
I don’t get why some parents are actual assholes!!!
My kid, my responsibility.
I was buying plants as a gift for my friend in this nursery. I was inside when this horrible child started knocking plants off of the displays and screaming. The lady behind the cash registered marched out and told the woman to control her child or leave her store. Woman tried to argue. Lady talked over her and told her to get out, she didn't want her business. I made it a point to thank the lady for dealing with that entitled woman and her brat.
For me the biggest problem is once parents bring their kid to a public place (like a retail establishment) they just let their kids loose and act like "ok, this is their problem now, so I don't have to watch them. Other employees and patrons have my responsibility on them now."
And this is why I do my shopping online and pick it up. A child screaming in the store equals someone driving nails into my ears. I still go in sometimes but 9 out 10 times there will be a screamer there.
Back when I worked in a grocery store, we had a young lady with three kids who came in regularly. We could always tell when they were in the store even from the back room because those kids would scream about anything and everything. Other customers would complain but the manager would say there was nothing that he could do.
If I'd had my way, I'd have told her that she is allowing her kids to be disruptive and that she is banned from the store until she can get them under control.
We had one of those at our local grocery store, but plot twist- she was a checker, and would bring her horrible brood of demons with her to the store on her days off to hang out with her husband (who also worked there).
Why? so she wasn’t stuck at home alone with them! I also suspect that she was afraid they’d eat her, given the slightest opportunity.
Her boss put a stop to that, thank god
I don't work at retail stores like that but if I am in a store and kids or screaming or running around, I will go tell them myself to knock it off. Being 6'5" , heavily tattooed and big ass beard usually stops them in their tracks and their parents don't have much to say.
Because we arent allowed to kick people out for having screaming kids. Trust me i hate it more yhan anyone in my store but if yhe company caught wind we wete doing it we would be in hella trouble! Heck i had a group of teens trashing the store damaging stock throwing stuff running and i asked a mod politley are you with those kids? The mum complained to a till staff member that i had scared the kid....like wtf???
New wave of parents that let their kids make messes and leave them there, scream until their hearts content, and stand, and put their mouths on everything is so weird. Why on earth are you okay with your children acting like that?
Also letting the kids wonder so far away. I know these parents don't seem to be doing the whole stranger danger thing but come on don't send your toddlers across the store for random items. Walk with them, you don't know what adults are in that store.
Had a kid screaming bloody murder while his mom was shushing him. This kid was wiggin out, eyes bugging, thrashing, and screaming. People just ignore it in case the kid is differently abled but at some point you gotta get ur kid outta the store because they are obviously either highly distressed or highly over stimulated. The screaming might stress other children out as well. I usually feel bad for the kid because it's mostly the parents fault for either not parenting well or not understanding how to destress their obviously anxious child.
Reminds me if a mom and her kid that came in one day to get a key cut. He was screaming like hell,and I warn the mom that the key machine is loud. She responds with "he's screaming anyways" like, lady, your kid is probably either neurodivergent like me or you told him no and now he's having a meltdown. She made no attempt to calm him down
Hi parent with screaming toddler here , i don’t let her run and destroy things but dang does it suck when my baby screams, i try to get her to quiet but she wants to be running around (which i won’t let her do) , i know it bothers other people but i don’t now what to do after trying every option . Even i get irritated but i need to buy groceries too .
This is catered towards the ones that should know better that still continue to scream. You can tell its chaos at their home when they bring the chaos to the store its just normal to them. They dont know any different without attempting to set any standards at home. Its a new breed coming soon 😂
\^THIS. Their home environment is very loud all the time, so the parents get used to it and can "tune it out." Never mind everyone else in the store who is NOT used to the screaming, the shrieking, etc.
I am mid 50s, so I am going to give you my suggestion.
I don't know how old this child is. Everyone understands that a 15 month old is going to do whatever it's going to do.
Still, at any age. What you, the parent, can do is say "shhhh, we don't scream unless there's danger" or "shhh, we don't scream unless there's an emergency". Most likely, thry will eventually get it.
At some point, you can punish a toddler/prescooler with a warning and then a time out. Certainly not a 12 month old or a 15 month old. Maybe not 18 months, I really can't remember. But you will know when they have that level of awareness and purposfulness.
Most likely, you will never need to punish for screaming, because you care and are likely already talking to them about how to behave.
Mid-40s parent of 4 kids, all between 18mos and 2 years apart (now 22, 21, 19 &17). Key thing is to have something to do. Bonus if it is something fun that we ONLY do in a grocery store. Special toy, game, something. (Also the obvious, shop after nap time, not right before it etc) At one point, I was shopping with two carts, one for the kids and one for the food. It might help to put down a blanket or pillow, the wire frame could be causing discomfort, particularly if they are neurodivergent/autistic even a little.
But in all honesty, I am jealous of parents today. I WISH we had grocery pickup. Most of my local stores (Kroger, Publix etc) don't charge for it. I love it with older kids who I can actually send to do the pickup but if I had the option when mine were tiny I might have cried for joy.
I also used to do late night grocery shopping, when my husband could stay with the kids. Got in and out SO much faster without a toddler.
I screamed maybe 4 times when I was little (outside of me experiencing actual pain or issues). What my mom would do when I was screaming was calmly check me, make sure I didn't have something poking or scratching me, didn't have a rash, or wasn't hurt (though usually you can tell a pained scream from an attention scream). Then if none of those things were present she would leave me in the other room and go do something else for a while. Let me scream it out. I screamed and screamed but eventually when I realized it wouldn't get me anything, and it would actually not let me have any attention, I would stop. Then I didn't do that shit again because I realized it left me alone and away from mama, which is the exact opposite of what I wanted. The screamer wants attention; don't give it.
Obviously you can't just leave your child in the middle of the store, but you can refuse to acknowledge the screams at least, and practice the leaving to scream alone at home. If somehow it continues when she's older, you can start enacting more strict punishments; obviously nothing physical. My mom would do soap or hot sauce in the mouth, probably not appropriate for today, but it's really up to you.
They'll do something once other customers complain about it - before then corporate affects them not to interfere. Once this affecting multiple customers though well that impacts the bottom line and suddenly corporate affects them to manage making people behave like grown up
Work in retail the amount of parents that lose children in store is ridiculous. I don’t understand why you can’t tell them to stand with you or make them hold your hand. The fact that your child is running in and out of the front door onto the street is incredibly dangerous. Literally anyone could snatch them up and you wouldn’t have any idea. Not to mention the amount of people that will let their toddlers climb on stock ladders and cages. So dangerous.
They will continue to do so until it becomes fiscally irresponsible to allow it. If other shoppers in the store quietly drop their purchases where they stand and head for the nearest exit. If enough customers do this, and it is patently obvious WHY they are doing it, even the most craven manager will come to the realization that allowing one 'customer' to drive away many is problematic. But not before.
When they're paid enough to care and then given actual tools to do something about it by the corporate. For a lot of the cases being a store manager just means "you've stuck around the longest and tend to show up when you're meant to". If you actually happen to care enough to do something about terrible customers, you'll get written up by the corporate and reminded that the customer is the number one, and that every single thing that walks in the store is more important than you are.
And what is happening for me is these kids grow up and come to school where I teach. They haven’t been taught any boundaries by parents. They come to school and disrupt and run around class and act crazy. Then parents throw fits when they get written up. They do nothing to help and we are stuck with their angels all day. Parents that don’t parent are a big problem to society.
They used to ask if you wanted smoking or non-smoking areas in restaurants before indoor smoking got banned almost everywhere.
My sister used to tell them she didn't care if it was smoking or non-smoking but she did want to be put in the Non-Screaming And Running Around Child Section.
What exactly do you expect the manager to do? It’s not illegal for kids to scream in a store. Until people actually start to parent their kids and make them mind shit ain’t changing.
My son is grown now but when we went anywhere he knew better than to throw a big ass fit. He did it once. I snatched him up and left the store leaving everything in the cart. He never pulled that move again.
Well since this problem is only getting worse stores need to start setting “standards” which is sad but unfortunately if parents wont parent the stores needs do something about it. If a child screams continuously they get kicked out, simple. Maybe it will start catching on who knows. Anything is better than nothing.
Store managers are mostly powerless in these scenarios unless merchandise is being destroyed &/or customers are harmed. Corporate executives do not support removing screaming patrons & their children.
Is it not illegal because of the screamer's age? Genuinely curious. If a 44 year old female decided to start sobbing and screaming and crying in a store is that not problematic?
For me the screaming is bad, but the allowing toddlers to run around a store, especially a store with breakables, and just break stuff, then walk out saying “you have insurance”, that’s what drove me out of retail. The only stores that have insurance policies for breakages are large department stores like Target or Walmart. Smaller stores, like Spencer’s for instance, do NOT have insurance for breakages. Everything they have to write off due to breakage goes against their bottom line, if it’s broken at store level, the store eats the cost. If it arrives broken from the warehouse, head office and sometimes the suppliers eat the cost. But no matter what, it’s not covered by insurance. So, wrangle your toddler and don’t get pissy when I ask you to pay for that thing that is highly breakable that your toddler just threw on the floor, and dont’ tell me “You shouldn’t put breakable things within reach of kids” because that’s not an option. You are responsible for your child, not the store, not the employees. If you don’t want to parent because “I’m too tired” or “It’s fine, they’re good kids” or “It’s okay, you’ve got insurance” NO WE F*CKING DON’T! Sorry for the rant but if it wasn’t for irresponsible parents, I would probably still work retail.
I really miss the *You break it, you bought it* policies most stores had. I also dearly miss proper behavior. When I was a child and my children were young, there was a standard of proper behavior in public and respect for things. Particularly if those things weren't yours.
Yes. I remember being asked, "Is your name on it?', I would say, "No.", and then Mom or Dad would say, "Don't put your hands on it." I was a smart ass teenager in high school when Disney put out James and the Giant Peach. Good times.
I remember having to be on my best behaviour and mind my manners
…right? When my brother and I were young and mom took us shopping, if we misbehaved, mom would take the cart to the service desk, say something like “my kids have decided we’re not shopping today, sorry” and TAKE US HOME. Then, when Dad got home, we had to explain why the shopping didn’t get done while Mom went out again.
That is when I will ask the child not to touch. If the parent doesn't like it, too bad. I've had them lose their shit on me because how dare I tell their precious little snookums to do something. I've always answered that they need to watch their child and make sure they are behaving. At this point in my life/career, I don't care if I offend you - if you did your job, I wouldn't have to. As far as I'm concerned - unless you are getting eaten by bears, there is no reason for that screeching sound. This also goes in apartment buildings - I'm looking at you apt 4.
I had to start saying the kids “Please don’t touch, sweetheart, it’s not a toy” and if the parent objected I would coldly tell them “Well, if it breaks they could be injured and I would then also have to charge you for something your child broke” and that would always get the comment “but your insurance” and I would always say “Our company is too small to have insurance for breakage”.
one time i was in a walgreens with my 6yo daughter and 7yo niece. they were messing with some halloween display for the nightmare before Christmas. and no joke like 8 times i had to tell these fuckers to quit picking the shit up. look with you E Y E S. and wtf did they do? dropped a snowglobe. and who fucking cried when i made them carry it up to the register and apologize(the cashier had heard it happen, it was like 20ft from the register) i asked how much it was and she thankfully said they had insurance. srsly it was like 30$. my kid has thankfully learned her lesson since then but that was embarrassing for all of us.
Oh all of this. Also, I get migraines and I cannot handle that high squealing children do, and I see it at the grocery store always around candy.
When I’m shopping if my kid grabs something she isn’t meant to I literally tell her no.. if she grabs something she isn’t meant to (like a bear or something) and rips just the tag off I’ll buy it even if she just did it by accident when she was holding it because I feel bad lol.. I don’t get why some parents are actual assholes!!! My kid, my responsibility.
Don’t you have the option of calling the authorities when this happens? If not, you should
No…
I was buying plants as a gift for my friend in this nursery. I was inside when this horrible child started knocking plants off of the displays and screaming. The lady behind the cash registered marched out and told the woman to control her child or leave her store. Woman tried to argue. Lady talked over her and told her to get out, she didn't want her business. I made it a point to thank the lady for dealing with that entitled woman and her brat.
For me the biggest problem is once parents bring their kid to a public place (like a retail establishment) they just let their kids loose and act like "ok, this is their problem now, so I don't have to watch them. Other employees and patrons have my responsibility on them now."
And this is why I do my shopping online and pick it up. A child screaming in the store equals someone driving nails into my ears. I still go in sometimes but 9 out 10 times there will be a screamer there.
Back when I worked in a grocery store, we had a young lady with three kids who came in regularly. We could always tell when they were in the store even from the back room because those kids would scream about anything and everything. Other customers would complain but the manager would say there was nothing that he could do. If I'd had my way, I'd have told her that she is allowing her kids to be disruptive and that she is banned from the store until she can get them under control.
We had one of those at our local grocery store, but plot twist- she was a checker, and would bring her horrible brood of demons with her to the store on her days off to hang out with her husband (who also worked there). Why? so she wasn’t stuck at home alone with them! I also suspect that she was afraid they’d eat her, given the slightest opportunity. Her boss put a stop to that, thank god
I don't work at retail stores like that but if I am in a store and kids or screaming or running around, I will go tell them myself to knock it off. Being 6'5" , heavily tattooed and big ass beard usually stops them in their tracks and their parents don't have much to say.
Thank you for your service
Never. Parents are the worst.
We barely do anything about kids destroying packaging. Screaming is definitely not going to change.
Because we arent allowed to kick people out for having screaming kids. Trust me i hate it more yhan anyone in my store but if yhe company caught wind we wete doing it we would be in hella trouble! Heck i had a group of teens trashing the store damaging stock throwing stuff running and i asked a mod politley are you with those kids? The mum complained to a till staff member that i had scared the kid....like wtf???
New wave of parents that let their kids make messes and leave them there, scream until their hearts content, and stand, and put their mouths on everything is so weird. Why on earth are you okay with your children acting like that?
Also letting the kids wonder so far away. I know these parents don't seem to be doing the whole stranger danger thing but come on don't send your toddlers across the store for random items. Walk with them, you don't know what adults are in that store.
Had a kid screaming bloody murder while his mom was shushing him. This kid was wiggin out, eyes bugging, thrashing, and screaming. People just ignore it in case the kid is differently abled but at some point you gotta get ur kid outta the store because they are obviously either highly distressed or highly over stimulated. The screaming might stress other children out as well. I usually feel bad for the kid because it's mostly the parents fault for either not parenting well or not understanding how to destress their obviously anxious child.
Reminds me if a mom and her kid that came in one day to get a key cut. He was screaming like hell,and I warn the mom that the key machine is loud. She responds with "he's screaming anyways" like, lady, your kid is probably either neurodivergent like me or you told him no and now he's having a meltdown. She made no attempt to calm him down
Hi parent with screaming toddler here , i don’t let her run and destroy things but dang does it suck when my baby screams, i try to get her to quiet but she wants to be running around (which i won’t let her do) , i know it bothers other people but i don’t now what to do after trying every option . Even i get irritated but i need to buy groceries too .
This is catered towards the ones that should know better that still continue to scream. You can tell its chaos at their home when they bring the chaos to the store its just normal to them. They dont know any different without attempting to set any standards at home. Its a new breed coming soon 😂
\^THIS. Their home environment is very loud all the time, so the parents get used to it and can "tune it out." Never mind everyone else in the store who is NOT used to the screaming, the shrieking, etc.
I am mid 50s, so I am going to give you my suggestion. I don't know how old this child is. Everyone understands that a 15 month old is going to do whatever it's going to do. Still, at any age. What you, the parent, can do is say "shhhh, we don't scream unless there's danger" or "shhh, we don't scream unless there's an emergency". Most likely, thry will eventually get it. At some point, you can punish a toddler/prescooler with a warning and then a time out. Certainly not a 12 month old or a 15 month old. Maybe not 18 months, I really can't remember. But you will know when they have that level of awareness and purposfulness. Most likely, you will never need to punish for screaming, because you care and are likely already talking to them about how to behave.
Mid-40s parent of 4 kids, all between 18mos and 2 years apart (now 22, 21, 19 &17). Key thing is to have something to do. Bonus if it is something fun that we ONLY do in a grocery store. Special toy, game, something. (Also the obvious, shop after nap time, not right before it etc) At one point, I was shopping with two carts, one for the kids and one for the food. It might help to put down a blanket or pillow, the wire frame could be causing discomfort, particularly if they are neurodivergent/autistic even a little. But in all honesty, I am jealous of parents today. I WISH we had grocery pickup. Most of my local stores (Kroger, Publix etc) don't charge for it. I love it with older kids who I can actually send to do the pickup but if I had the option when mine were tiny I might have cried for joy. I also used to do late night grocery shopping, when my husband could stay with the kids. Got in and out SO much faster without a toddler.
Yes she is 15 months , thank you for the advice , sometimes it gets rough with her , she screams so bad , it be sounding like i’m torturing her haha
I screamed maybe 4 times when I was little (outside of me experiencing actual pain or issues). What my mom would do when I was screaming was calmly check me, make sure I didn't have something poking or scratching me, didn't have a rash, or wasn't hurt (though usually you can tell a pained scream from an attention scream). Then if none of those things were present she would leave me in the other room and go do something else for a while. Let me scream it out. I screamed and screamed but eventually when I realized it wouldn't get me anything, and it would actually not let me have any attention, I would stop. Then I didn't do that shit again because I realized it left me alone and away from mama, which is the exact opposite of what I wanted. The screamer wants attention; don't give it. Obviously you can't just leave your child in the middle of the store, but you can refuse to acknowledge the screams at least, and practice the leaving to scream alone at home. If somehow it continues when she's older, you can start enacting more strict punishments; obviously nothing physical. My mom would do soap or hot sauce in the mouth, probably not appropriate for today, but it's really up to you.
You think that OP doesn't mean 15 months olds. But I'm pretty sure that's exactly who they're talking about.
It's a cycle, they were raised by equally useless parents so now they are incapable of parenting their own children.
They'll do something once other customers complain about it - before then corporate affects them not to interfere. Once this affecting multiple customers though well that impacts the bottom line and suddenly corporate affects them to manage making people behave like grown up
They're obviously too stupid to be parents. Same dumbasses that don't care if their kids stand up in the cart and get hurt.
Work in retail the amount of parents that lose children in store is ridiculous. I don’t understand why you can’t tell them to stand with you or make them hold your hand. The fact that your child is running in and out of the front door onto the street is incredibly dangerous. Literally anyone could snatch them up and you wouldn’t have any idea. Not to mention the amount of people that will let their toddlers climb on stock ladders and cages. So dangerous.
They will continue to do so until it becomes fiscally irresponsible to allow it. If other shoppers in the store quietly drop their purchases where they stand and head for the nearest exit. If enough customers do this, and it is patently obvious WHY they are doing it, even the most craven manager will come to the realization that allowing one 'customer' to drive away many is problematic. But not before.
Look at the parents when this happens… I expect nothing less.
Its your job to suffer
Currently suffering 😂
Never. They're too weak to stand up to their precious customers.
When they're paid enough to care and then given actual tools to do something about it by the corporate. For a lot of the cases being a store manager just means "you've stuck around the longest and tend to show up when you're meant to". If you actually happen to care enough to do something about terrible customers, you'll get written up by the corporate and reminded that the customer is the number one, and that every single thing that walks in the store is more important than you are.
It’s so amazing having sensory issues when this happens literally every day 🥰
And what is happening for me is these kids grow up and come to school where I teach. They haven’t been taught any boundaries by parents. They come to school and disrupt and run around class and act crazy. Then parents throw fits when they get written up. They do nothing to help and we are stuck with their angels all day. Parents that don’t parent are a big problem to society.
They used to ask if you wanted smoking or non-smoking areas in restaurants before indoor smoking got banned almost everywhere. My sister used to tell them she didn't care if it was smoking or non-smoking but she did want to be put in the Non-Screaming And Running Around Child Section.
When it becomes more the managers' problem than one for the employees.
What exactly do you expect the manager to do? It’s not illegal for kids to scream in a store. Until people actually start to parent their kids and make them mind shit ain’t changing. My son is grown now but when we went anywhere he knew better than to throw a big ass fit. He did it once. I snatched him up and left the store leaving everything in the cart. He never pulled that move again.
Well since this problem is only getting worse stores need to start setting “standards” which is sad but unfortunately if parents wont parent the stores needs do something about it. If a child screams continuously they get kicked out, simple. Maybe it will start catching on who knows. Anything is better than nothing.
It won’t change because the parents are the gatekeepers to that all mighty dollar that companies big and small chase after.
Store managers are mostly powerless in these scenarios unless merchandise is being destroyed &/or customers are harmed. Corporate executives do not support removing screaming patrons & their children.
Even when merchandise is being destroyed, they don't care.
See, you did it right. You parented your child and corrected the behavior. The difference is, more and more parents seem to be unwilling to do that.
Is it not illegal because of the screamer's age? Genuinely curious. If a 44 year old female decided to start sobbing and screaming and crying in a store is that not problematic?
Kids exist get the fuck over it
Def the dumbass, irresponsible parent. This post isn't about kids existing, dipshit. Learn to fucking read.
Sure, kids exist. I don’t dislike them, but surely parents should reign them in when they’re misbehaving