You did the right thing to walk away. The parent was in the wrong to lose sight of her child, but that was not the time to point it out to her.

Hope you are okay as far as injuries go. Some people you just cannot reason with and it is no point trying.

Well - I have a nice bruise above my ankle . I'll survive. Not happy - but I'll survive !

I hope that the unsupervised, out of control toddler learned that shopping carts can be dangerous. His mother obviously isn't teaching him anything but to scream at people when things go wrong. I don't blame the toddler for this, but encounters with out of control kids can be annoying.

Here's a strange & similar one - minus any injuries. I was in line at a major bookseller chain. The line was long and there was a mother with several children behind me. One of the children, approx 4-5, started to lean on my legs. I quickly side-stepped and the child fell over. Fortunately the mother didn't cuss at me but she apparently thought it was strange that I didn't want a child I don't know leaning on me. I still think that must be a strange family...

Too much - I'd have called the cops on anyone cussing/verbally assaulting me, let them see the bruises and sort her issues out. No decent mother will choose to cuss in front of her small children - that is where the line was crossed.

You were wrong to 'mind your own business'. Gotta keep an eye out for 'incoming'.

To add to the stories of kids bumping or hitting you I was shopping and was hit from behind by a 9-11 year old boy. As he hit me he started to slip angling for the floor. His mother saw me put my hand on his arm to prevent this but she had not been paying any attention before this as he and his companion were rough housing. You could tell she was angry because I had touched her from her open mouth and facial look. The clerk promptly told her before she could open her mouth that she should be thanking me for stopping his fall after he ran into me. Unknown to me others had noticed the whole thing and had stepped forward perhaps to prevent her from reaching me but there was a chorus of "She sure did."

Here are two more thoughts.

If this child was that young why wasn't he in the seat on the buggy? Buggies have had those seats for more than my 50+ years, they are there so the child can be controlled. A child that young shouldn't be by himself, more evidence against the mom.

Chi- I do keep and "eye out" and if I use a buggy, when in line I stand in the front or to the side of it. But what about someone that is unable to whatch out due to hearing, vision, injuries, etc?

Toomuch - I definitely say yes to a ban on little children in restaurants! I do seem to remember that some stores that sell alcohol require all children to ride in a buggy.

There have been countless times where I've seen out of control kids in public places, careening down aisles with carts or pulling stuff off of shelves. All I can think of is some poor old person hardly able to stay steady on their feet being run over or side-swiped and breaking a hip. Of course the parents are no-where to be found until some concerned person addresses one of them then all hell will pay.

Free range child rearing.

The boy wasn't in the seat because he wouldn't STAY PUT and it was no doubt easier on mom and less dangerous than him climbing out. I have seen this countless times. Everyone has the 'right' to raise their child as they see fit BUT then they need to STAY HOME. These free range parents don't seem to understand they are responsible for everything and anything their child does while in public. I worked retail too long not to know just how destructive this can get. I hated watching these little whirlwinds running free through parking lots. They are SHORT, they can't be seen but somehow mom feels more compelled to give them their freedom than their safety.

Arcy - that's sad about the kids in the parking lot and being allowed to destroy a store. I try to shop when less kids are out. Recently I had a toddler grab onto the wires of the buggy, I gave the buggy enough of a turn to break his hold. Leaned over looked him in the face and told him "no" in a firm voice, from the child's face I think it was a new word for him.

I thought the newer buggies had straps to buckle the kid in so they couldn't get out.

I remember seeing a lady that used a harness and leash for shopping with her young child, thought it was a great idea but others gave her ugly looks....

It's easy to keep a kid in the seat. Just hold them while they're sitting in the seat. At least for awhile. Made my kiddo not mind being there. I hate the word, but training is best done with love and respect.

My friend and I were walking at the park one day, and there was a herd of pre-teen boys hurtling around on bicycles. One of them came very close to my friend and he reflexively reached out his hands to avoid getting handlebar in the gut. He bumped the boy and the boy apparently fell over, but we didn't wait around to see. We walked about another half a mile and as we approached the parking lot we were met by a policeman. The mother had called the police because she said my friend assaulted her son. The policeman just rolled his eyes to us, because he runs at that park and he knows how the boys act. He took the mother to the other end of the parking lot and apparently suggested to her how she could handle the situation.

By the way, my friend is a 75 year old grandpa.

I was in Macys, looking at a table of items, when a girl of about 5 years old marched up to me and delivered a straightforward kick in the shins! I yelped and said, "Why did you kick me!?" -- her mother very obviously heard me, gave me a look, but merely hustled the child away without a word of apology. At least she didn't try to blame me!

When I was in Sam's Club the other day I was noticing how many children were being allowed to treat the aisles as playgrounds, running, jumping, grabbing; and only once did I hear the child being told to settle down and be courteous of other people. I think that I am going to start vocalizing more emphatically when I have been nearly run into.

Once at work we were hurrying a cardiac arrest patient down the hall of the ICU (where young children were not permitted) in a heavy bed (read: momentum!) and nearly ran down a toddler who darted out of a room just as we approached. Other staff members later told me the child had been running in and out all afternoon, and the parents had ignored requests to take the child to the waiting room.

I got hit by a man in an electric cart a few years ago. I was standing still looking at a display and he came zooming up along side of me and hit me in the leg. I grabbed onto a shelf and did not hit the floor but tipped sideways instead. I stood up with my look of shock of my face and said to him, "you hit me". He shouted at me, " You should have seen me coming and got out of the way !". My mouth was just hanging open and my leg hurt. An employee saw the whole thing and came over and told him just to go along his way it was OK, everything is fine. End of incident. My leg was badly bruised. Not an apology anywhere. I was furious.

So many stories of children running amok.

I was once in a grocery store when three kids in the 11-13 year old range were hurtling down the aisles on skate boards. I was able to jump out of the way, but the elderly woman who was also walking down the aisle wasn't fast or nimble enough. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, but she was shook up. Management escorted the boys to the door and told them to never come back. I wish they had also obtained their phone numbers and made calls to the parents. Perhaps they did, I didn't see or hear how the rest of it went.

I can't help but thinking those pre-teens were toddlers once who may very well have been bashing customers with shopping carts...

On the rair occasion that go into a restaurant for a quick dinner that we know families use we ask the hostess to be seated away from children. I have been noticing over the years restaurants are seating families with small children in seperate sections than only adults.

Raye I had no trouble getting mine to sit when told, hold hands in parking lots, stick close, not touch...but this really isn't about the kids. They are who they were trained to be too.

We took our daughter into restaurants from an early age. Once or twice she made a big fuss or threw a tantrum and we took her out promptly but it didn't take very long or more than a couple of hasty retreats before she knew how she was supposed to behave in public and did so.

It is just proper parenting to be able to socialize even quite young kids to behave well in public......just like you would do with puppies :-) And paying attention to them and not letting them run loose. Too many younger parents seem to think that any manner of restraint or discipline with their kids will stifle their development or personality or creativity or some such drivel!! That's why we have so many teens and young adults that are all "me first" and have no consideration for anyone other than themselves.

What we used to call being strict with children and making them mind their manners is now called bullying. Today's parents are allowing children to make their own decisions and then discussing the outcome with them later on. I am befuddled by it all.

Arcy - yes, this is all on the parents, children that small don't know any better, pre-teen and teenager do know better and should face punishment for wrong actions. Fortunately I was born long ago when parents loved their children enough to discipline (& spank) their children.

Raye- did I read that correctly?? A young child leaned against you and instead of using your words to ask the child if they were ok or ask them to stop you moved over so the child fell??

You know, I've had elderly people reach out and grab onto me/lean on me, I'm glad I didn't just side step THEM so they fell over!

Perhaps the mother looked at you strangely because she didn't expect someone to treat another human being like they are poison.

Had some near misses, just hope that if I have actual physical contact, I have the presence of mind to fall down on the floor and start shrieking.

Texas - The child was behind me so I couldn't see what was there, as soon as I felt contact I did a fast side step. As I was moving that's when I realized it was a child, too late to say anything. The floor was carpeted and the child didn't react, no crying, yelling. The mother didn't say anything either, no apology or correction of the child.

Small children fall & trip frequently and bounce right back up. I was relating that it's bizarre that a child old enough to know better would attempt to lean against a person they don't know. Notice that in above posts others have also automatically reacting to something touching or hitting them from behind.

I've never had anyone that either I didn't know or outside of the hospital setting grab on to me for support.

Raye, you called this child a toddler how is that old enough to know better? And how did the child grab a hold of the wiring on your buggy and yet he was behind you?

Mamapinky, I think you’re conflating two different incidents, one where the child was behind Raye and another where the child grabbed the buggy.

Mama, two different episodes.

The child that leaned on me was in the 4-5 maybe even 6 year old range, old enough for the child to know about boundaries.

The toddler that grabbed onto the buggy was not old enough to know better but appeared to not have previously heard the command "no". Also this happened just inside the grocery store door, so I needed to move to allow the customers behind me to enter.

teens and young adults that are all "me first"

I don't believe that has ended at teens or young adults.

quote:

amylou321

"I reiterate my belief that not everyone should be allowed to breed. And I do think that if your kid is unsupervised running around like a rabid weasel or screaming like a possessed monkey on crack, you should be removed from the business."

I'm not much of a people person but as far as I'm concerned, you just moved to the top of the heap with your accurate and honest comment. You mam, may jump in line ahead of me any time, no matter how much you have in your cart nor how much longer it might increase the time I have to get to the cash register! Nicely refreshing...

One of the nicest things I've found about being retired is that I can go to the grocery or other stores at hours when I'm having to dodge only a bare minimum of little ankle biters, hormonal pre-teens and the full on nasty teens that are intent on mayhem.

Hey thanks! Should we set up some kind of code word or phrase so you know it's me just in case I should take you up on your offer?????

How about "weasels on aisle 3"

Just "weasels" in a loud voice should do it. There are terms I prefer and frequently use for the little buggers but unfortunately, they're usually not fit for mixed company nor public consumption.

When one's retired ... EVERY DAY IS HOLIDAY!

One has time to visit stores in uncontested hours.

o j