EW in training

[Kogarashi]

I must say, good on the parents for 1. not giving in, and 2. not responding to the "I hate you" with anything that would've egged the temper tantrum on. About the only thing I would've done different was maybe comment that if such behavior continued, they wouldn't be getting any presents that year, but it really would depend on how bad they'd been leading up to that tantrum. I learned with my parents quickly enough that if they said "no" to anything I wanted in the store, that meant NO and there was no convincing otherwise, and throwing a fit just meant being sent to my room when we got home.

Getting mad is probably the reaction the kid is going for, anyways.

Probably. The whole, "If I have to feel bad, I'll make you feel bad too!" scenario.

[DevilBoy]

Man, if I'd said something like that at her age, my butt would've been hauled out of that store so fast...

My mom would have taken this a step further and took the toy back to the shelf it came from... then I would have been hauled out of the store... empty handed.

[Skeksin]

(Yes, little girls under the age of ten babbling on a hot pink Razor phones, I'm looking at YOU!)

It must be said!!!

Hot pink camo Razor phone!

Bet they would be popular up north.....

[ShinyKitsune]

The girl was clutching some random princess plastic crap kit, and her mom was prying it out of her hands. This is what, 19 days before Christmas?
The girl refused to let go, demanding that her parents buy it for her. When they refused, and put the kit back, she slumped in the cart, pouting, and said, "This is why I hate you guys!"

One thing I don't get about parents these days...Why do they let the kids hold on to the toys/candy/whatever until they get up to the register in the first place? I grew up in a family of six kids...if any of us grabbed a toy we wanted, but our parents weren't buying it, they immediately put it back and told us so. (The exception being the youngest two...They were spoiled rotten and got everything they wanted...)

If you let the kid take a toy up to the register, you giving the kid the impression that you're gonna buy that toy. Yanking it out of the kid's hands at the last minute means you just got his/her hopes up for nothing. No wonder the kid gets upset.

[Cat]

I've had parents hand their kids stuff like wallets, flasks, and ther non kid stuff to keep em quiet whilst shopping. Young kids......teething kids.....they get to my register and had me chewed up leather.


Granted, these kids were prolly too young to *want* the flask or wallet (I hope) but I have seen where the kid thought they were getting something, the parent distracts the kid, and deftly puts the item away. Usually, no tears.

[Kogarashi]

One thing I don't get about parents these days...Why do they let the kids hold on to the toys/candy/whatever until they get up to the register in the first place? I grew up in a family of six kids...if any of us grabbed a toy we wanted, but our parents weren't buying it, they immediately put it back and told us so.

That's how it was with my family as well.

Devil's Advocate here, though, (and I'm not saying this is the case for the OP's story) is that sometimes the parents don't notice the kid holding the item until they get to the register, especially if there's more than one kid. As a cashier, I've had plenty of parents come through my line who showed genuine shock when they realized that their Middle Child was holding something they'd never picked up off the shelves. It was usually followed by an exclamation of, "Where'd you get that from?" at which point they'd take the item, explain that they hadn't said okay, and give it to me to be put away later. Frustrated kids, yes, but only misled by their own sneakiness/childhood stealth.

I can certainly see myself doing that as a parent down the road when I have more than the one kid. I've been known not to notice pencils tucked behind my ears and glasses perched on top of my head. Here's hoping I teach my kids well enough not to do that in the first place, or at least not to throw a fit when I say no.

And heaven help my kids if they make it all the way to the car with the item before I notice it.

[RetailWorkhorse]

chewed up leather.

Mmmm, leather tastes great.

.....I just gave away how much of a Dog I am, didn't I?