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Two young women in their early 20s came in with three small children, the oldest of which couldn't have been more than 4 years old. They herded the kids around to choose some chips and drinks, then basically left the babes to their own devices while they browsed for themselves. As I took care of other customers, I tried to keep an eye on the kids, who were running around grabbing things off of racks and dropping them wherever when they found something else they wanted. The smallest, who may have been barely two years old, kept bringing me various things from shelves around the store.
One of the women checked out quickly, buying the kids each some candy, then stood by watching this all go on. At one point when I told one of the kids to stop playing with a display, the woman called out to her friend across the store that she needed to "come take care of (her) kids!" Finally, toward the end of a line of customers to whom I wasn't able to give my full attention, I decided enough was enough.
ME: Hey, I don't have time to watch your kids, so could you do that, please?
The mother yelled at them to stop touching stuff, but she didn't make a move to enforce it. When she came up in line, I scanned the items on the counter, then:
ME: I need to scan those cookies the kids have.
SC: She already paid for those! My kids don't steal!
ME: Your friend paid for their candy bars. They just picked up the cookies.
SC: Well, they aren't getting those.
ME: Okay, could you bring them to me, please?
SC: MY KIDS DON'T STEAL!
ME: I know they aren't trying to steal. They're little, and they don't know what they're doing. They need YOU to teach them.
SC: <yelling at kids> GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND GIMME THAT BEFORE Y'ALL GET BEAT!
She snatched the cookies and handed them over, paid and they all finally left.
ME: <to the next customer, a regular, who is shaking his head> On second thought, maybe someone else should teach them.
One of the women checked out quickly, buying the kids each some candy, then stood by watching this all go on. At one point when I told one of the kids to stop playing with a display, the woman called out to her friend across the store that she needed to "come take care of (her) kids!" Finally, toward the end of a line of customers to whom I wasn't able to give my full attention, I decided enough was enough.
ME: Hey, I don't have time to watch your kids, so could you do that, please?
The mother yelled at them to stop touching stuff, but she didn't make a move to enforce it. When she came up in line, I scanned the items on the counter, then:
ME: I need to scan those cookies the kids have.
SC: She already paid for those! My kids don't steal!
ME: Your friend paid for their candy bars. They just picked up the cookies.
SC: Well, they aren't getting those.
ME: Okay, could you bring them to me, please?
SC: MY KIDS DON'T STEAL!
ME: I know they aren't trying to steal. They're little, and they don't know what they're doing. They need YOU to teach them.
SC: <yelling at kids> GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND GIMME THAT BEFORE Y'ALL GET BEAT!
She snatched the cookies and handed them over, paid and they all finally left.
ME: <to the next customer, a regular, who is shaking his head> On second thought, maybe someone else should teach them.
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