Parenthood is filled with a lot of "Should I have done that?" moments. It can also include judgment from others that is oftentimes not helpful.
One mom found herself wondering if she handled her recent grocery store trip correctly after a customer got angry with her. She asked Reddit users for their input.
The mom let her young child scan items at self-checkout so he can learn how to.
She asked if she’s ultimately at fault for letting her son operate the self-checkout machine.
“I took my son with me to the grocery store today. He is seven. I am a big believer in learning by doing,” she wrote. “I like to give my son as interactive a role in things as possible, and if he wants to do something himself I always at least let him try unless it's unsafe.”
She was supervising him the whole time, but she didn't help scan items.
"When we got to the self checkout he confidently told me he could do it by himself, so I let him," the original poster (OP) continued. "There are about ten self checkouts and one line for all the machines, so people don't line up behind individual machines. He was a lot slower than I would have been, but he managed to do it all with my supervision, even the produce."
When they finally finished, an angry customer gave her an earful.
"As we started to wheel away, a woman walked up and slammed her grocery basket on the counter. She said 'thanks for doing that as slow as possible, [expletive].'"
It was a not-very-nice word used in front of the child, according to the post.
The mom thought this response was not called for.
"I thought that was incredibly rude and uncalled for," OP told the users of Reddit. "Some people are slower than others. It is what it is."
Reddit users pressed OP for more information and gave her their thoughts.
"There were several other machines being used and freed up, so we can't have made that big an impact on her wait time," OP finished.
Many users commented, asking for additional information before they could pass judgment on the situation.
"Was there a long line waiting for the self checkout machines?" one user asked. Another added, "How many items were in your order?"
OP gave some more info on the situation.
When asked how many items were in her order, the mom said, "Not sure. 10 – 20."
She also didn't know how long it all took, but thought maybe 10 minutes.
In response to a user who asked if it was busy, she said: "It was a Sunday, so fairly busy, but there were quite a few machines, and a lot of people wanted to wait in the cashier line. My son and I waited less than five minutes."
After more info, a verdict was in: Everybody sucks.
The top comment of the thread says, "Based on OP's response that the store and line were quite busy, ESH [everyone sucks here]. You should have let your son help with a few items, not all of them, or taken him at a less busy time so you’re not inconveniencing others."
Another user thinks mom is fully at fault here, writing, "If there's a line you either do it yourself or let him scan a few things. It's rude and disrespectful to those waiting in a long line to checkout. Save those learning experiences for when it's slow."
