would you judge someone who brings their kid to the grocery store?

[Christine]

Wow, I didn't realize people were judging parents who take small children shopping with them.

I guess I would only judge if I saw an entire family out shopping together when one parent could stay home with the child(ren). Prior to the pandemic, it was common to grocery shop and see families. Personally, I never understood it because both my kids were not FUN at all in the grocery store so I left them at home with my mother if I could. But, hey, whatever. But surely it's easy enough to see that when a single parent is out shopping with one child, they probably don't have a choice.

I think a few weeks ago I did get mildly annoyed at one parent. She was in Target with her child (about 10 years old) and this child was noticeably ill with some sort of respiratory issue. Low coughing you could hear across the store (very wet and croupy sounding). I did try to tell myself that maybe they were there just waiting for a prescription and didn't have a choice!

 

[fla4fun]

I would not think twice about one adult with children, so long as any mask/distancing measures are being followed. I do have a problem with multiple adults, with or without children, shopping for one household. If you need someone to drive you to the store, and the two of you are doing your shopping for individual households, that’s one thing. But I see a lot of parties of two or three loading up the one cart, and having those additional people there increases the risk to everyone. There is a huge retirement community right behind our grocery, so there are a lot of high risk people in there shopping all the time. I just wish people were taking that into consideration when deciding who goes to the store.

 

[orangetree]

If i saw a huge family all shopping together right now, Id definitely judge them. Thats just creating more potential causes of infection into somewhere everyone has to go. If its just a mom and a kid, definitely not, as likely they didn't have a choice.

 

[ponyboy]

The real question is, why would you care if a stranger judges you or not? You weren't put on this earth to please everyone and it's impossible to do so anyway.

 

[PlainJane]

Prior to the pandemic, it was common to grocery shop and see families. Personally, I never understood it because both my kids were not FUN at all in the grocery store so I left them at home with my mother if I could.

My 3 year old LOVES grocery shopping. It’s of course way harder to go to the store with him than without him, but we would do it sometimes because it brings him a lot of joy. He likes reminding us what we need, pushing his cart or riding in one of the car carts, waving at people, and then putting away the groceries once we are home.

It’s one of those things we used to take for granted and now I regret that we didn’t do it more.

The real question is, why would you care if a stranger judges you or not? You weren't put on this earth to please everyone and it's impossible to do so anyway.

The problems arise when the strangers don’t keep their thoughts to themselves and say nasty things in front of the children. One lady posted a note on her daughter’s outfit to leave her alone.

 

[J'aime Paris]

No. No one knows your situation and it's nobody's business anyway.

Exactly!

 

[Christine]

My 3 year old LOVES grocery shopping. It’s of course way harder to go to the store with him than without him, but we would do it sometimes because it brings him a lot of joy. He likes reminding us what we need, pushing his cart or riding in one of the car carts, waving at people, and then putting away the groceries once we are home.

It’s one of those things we used to take for granted and now I regret that we didn’t do it more.

You are lucky! I guess I should have further said that these kids I see in the store are miserable. Crying, yelling, hating it (as mine did). I did everything to find someone else to watch them while I shopped.

 

[Dole_whip_doll]

Only if that kid is wearing only his diaper or running around the store barefoot.

 

[nene0182]

Not at all. I would just assume they didn’t have a choice. I mean for me personally grocery shopping is stressful right now, I can’t imagine anyone would voluntarily drag their young ones with if they had a choice. (Though I am sure some are but whatever not really my business)

 

[disneychrista]

As a single parent, I understand that sometimes there are no other options. I would shake my head at mom, dad and kids.

 

[Princess2R]

My 3 year old LOVES grocery shopping. It’s of course way harder to go to the store with him than without him, but we would do it sometimes because it brings him a lot of joy. He likes reminding us what we need, pushing his cart or riding in one of the car carts, waving at people, and then putting away the groceries once we are home.

It’s one of those things we used to take for granted and now I regret that we didn’t do it more.



The problems arise when the strangers don’t keep their thoughts to themselves and say nasty things in front of the children. One lady posted a note on her daughter’s outfit to leave her alone.

I LOVE going to the grocery store with my 2 year old daughter! As a sahm, it is one of the many things I miss. She sits happily in the cart, tosses things in the back of the cart, and is great, fun company for doing an errand!
I look forward to not having to do errands alone when the world returns to normal.

 

[hereyago]

If it’s the whole family, heck yes I do judge. I go alone and dd stays home with dgd. I am loving it,lol.
Pre Covid19, my dd would love to go down every dang aisle, then I would lose her and call her and dang if she hasn’t warped speed to the other side of the store.

A local kids consignment shop just reopened with rules and its small, I missed taking dgd ,but I thought it best for her not to go.

 

[cvjw]

In Georgia, I see kids shopping with their parents all the time. In every store I go in. Most always have a mask on. I think it really depends on where you are. Here, I have seen no judgement. In other states, I have seen clips of terrible judgement. If I were you, and had to go to the store, I would most certainly take my child. I would also take the correct precautions and try to shop quickly!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Wow, I didn't realize people were judging parents who take small children shopping with them.

It's def. been mentioned multiple times on threads since this started and I'm sure people have seen or heard of others ranting about it elsewhere too

 

[Praying Colonel]

Everybody needs to cool out.

 

[Pooh2]

It's beyond time for people to mind their own business and stop bullying strangers in the supermarket and online.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

At one end of the spectrum, if they're not wearing masks, and they're running all over the place and handling and licking things, then heck yes you're going to be thought of harshly. And rightfully so.
At the other end if the kids stay by your side, keep their hands to themselves and are wearing masks then you're going to be thought of well. And rightfully so.

It's just like at a restaurant pre covid. If your baby cries and you sit and do nothing, you're going to be thought of harshly. If you take the baby outside until it's finished crying you're not going to be thought of harshly. If you go on a message board complaining about the person that didn't take their baby outside, you're not going to be thought of harshly. However if they did take the baby outside and you're still grouching and moaning, you are going to be thought of harshly. Also, the manner and type of the complaining will affect things. If you make statements that she's a totally unfit mother based on one incident. Reaction will be harsh. If you say she didn't do the right thing here, probably not harsh.

We can, we do, and we must make judgments every single day.

 

[Nayan]

A whole family gets some serious side-eye, but one adult with kids doesn't bother me. Unless they are without masks, running around and touching everything. That does bother me.

 

[VandVsmama]

Everybody needs to cool out.

Totally. The Karens of the world are out in droves these days.

 

[fly girl]

No, I have seen one parent and child in the grocery store and thought nothing of it. I assumed they couldn’t get childcare.

I took my daughter to Kohl’s a couple of days ago. She needs new tennis shoes and I had to return some online clothing I purchased that didn’t fit. We both wore masks. If someone looked at me with judgement that’s on them.

Although I totally passed judgment on the lady who was without a mask and coughed not covering her mouth. Even before all this that was rude. I did blurt out, “please, cover your mouth” and got the side eye. Yeah lady, I’m talking to you!