Karen Ruins Father-Daughter Fun At Grocery Store, He Hopes To Have Ruined Her Entire Day
I have to admit that I often love taking trips to the grocery store. No, I don’t enjoy paying at the end. But perusing all of the new products, taking time to pick the freshest looking produce and grabbing ingredients that sound like they would make an excellent dinner can be so enjoyable. I did not always feel this way though, as getting dragged to the grocery store as a child felt more like doing chores than embarking on an adventure.
That’s why one father decided to make trips to the shop special for his daughter. But after a woman complained about his child’s manners, he decided to get petty revenge. Below, you’ll find the story that this dad recently told on Reddit, as well as some of the replies amused readers shared.
This father turns trips to the grocery store into playtime with his daughter
Image credits: Gustavo Fring / pexels (not the actual photo)
So after an older woman complained about their fun, he decided they would have as much as possible
Image credits: Anastasia Shuraeva / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Ananthu Ganesh / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / pexels (not actual photo)
Later, the dad added a few more thoughts after reading some of the replies to his post
Image credits: tarzanismypony
Many shoppers dread trips to the grocery store
While going to the grocery store is often a fun adventure for me to decide what I’d like to eat on that particular day, I understand that I may be in the minority. It seems like the prices of food, toiletries and cleaning supplies skyrocket every day, and it would be nice to go a week without having to shell out a substantial portion of my paycheck just to survive.
When it comes to the reasons why people often dread grocery shopping, Stephanie Vermillion at HuffPost says that agoraphobia can play a part. Many shoppers feel anxiety about all of the uncertainties that await them at the store, such as how many parking spots will be available, how long the checkout lines will be, how crowded the aisles will be, if they’ll even have everything in stock and more.
Actually, when I lived in the United States, I intentionally went to Trader Joe’s at 8am every Sunday morning because entering any later, when the store and parking lot were full, was just too nerve-racking. Fear of the unknown isn’t the only stressor that can come from the grocery store, though. HuffPost notes that some customers, particularly those in larger bodies, may worry that they’ll be judged by fellow shoppers. And others might simply dread the time and money that getting groceries requires.
Parents are always looking for ways to keep their kids entertained while shopping
Image credits: Gustavo Fring / pexels (not actual photo)
Popping into the shop to grab groceries can incite anxiety in anyone, but it can be particularly challenging for parents who have to bring their little ones along. We all know that kids get bored easily, and it can be impossible to predict a young child’s mood. They might be happy one moment and throwing a tantrum that attracts the attention of dozens of Walmart shoppers only seconds later. So there is nothing wrong with moms and dads going out of their way to make sure that trips to the store aren’t torturous.
When I was a kid and I accompanied my parents to H-E-B, I was sometimes lucky enough to be given a donut to enjoy during the shopping trip. We would, of course, pay for it when we got to the checkout line, but that simple snack was enough to make going to the store worth it for me. But if you don’t want to bribe your children with food, don’t worry. There are plenty of other ways to turn shopping into a fun outing.
Baby Foodie recommends getting your little ones involved while shopping, so they don’t get bored. You can make lists with them ahead of time, so they’ll have a job while in the store. And you might even be able to give them a tiny shopping cart to put their own items in, if the store has those available. You can even turn shopping into a game, allowing them to choose one item of every color of the rainbow, or to decide what will be for dinner and find all of the appropriate ingredients.
Taking little ones along to the store can even be a great learning opportunity
It’s wise to be intentional about what time you’re going shopping with your kids, and don’t expect to be in and out of the shop quickly when they’re tagging along. If the store you’re at has a self-checkout option, you might want to allow your kiddos to scan some items or do the bagging (with supervision) too. Praise them for behaving well in the store, and find appropriate ways to reward them, so grocery shopping will have a connotation for them.
Taking your kids along with you to the shop can help teach them a variety of lessons and skills as well. Creating a budget and having limits on how much you can spend can be a great math lesson, while reading labels and signs in the store can be helpful for literacy. You can also teach kiddos about nutrition and the importance of eating a healthy diet by choosing foods that will properly fuel them.
And if you’re a parent who works a full-time job and often feels like you don’t have enough time with your little ones, trips to the supermarket can even be a bonding experience. Quality and quantity time are important, so if that means zooming around the store in a “race cart,” so be it! We would love to hear your thoughts on this story of petty revenge in the comments below, pandas. Then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article featuring grocery store drama, check out this piece next!
Amused readers applauded the dad for having fun with his daughter and shared similar stories of their own
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This story sounds fake and the guy telling it sounds insufferable. If someone wrongs you in public, you deal with it and move on, you don't keep the bit/grudge going, and deliberately further antagonise with petty comments like "we don't want to anger the FUN POLICE." Saying things like "I hope I ruined her whole day" is childish and mean. He could have responded to this with grace and positivity. Yes, she should have minded her own business instead of coming over to judge his parenting, but the response comes across as disproportionate.
Yeah, if this isn't a troll post he absolutely went overboard with his immature acting. You shouldn't play in a store so if someone reprimands you for that, just let it go. Don't use your kid to misbehave and be a jerk with all that "fun police" stuff.
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Sorry, with old lady in this. Supermarkets are not playgrounds. The car trolleys are there as a polite way to keep your kids from running round the store. The guy bullied the old lady. What is that teaching his daughter? he sounds like a total jerk. The fact that he thinks he is being trolled by people who are disagreeing with him speaks volumes.
Don't get your groceries in Holland then. They have small charts for the kids to play with.
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OP has taught his extremely perceptive daughter that it is perfectly okay to harass and annoy people. The older woman was wrong, no doubt, but OP took everything to the extreme.
I'm with the old lady on this one, this guy sounds like an absolute dïck and he's teaching his daughter to follow in his footsteps.
But he wasn't obstructing or harming the old lady in any way. She attacked him without provocation.
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I get that the lady may not have had to mingle with you, if you really did this, where nobody could be harmed or disturbed. But if the father itself is not a Troll I have to say, you are not very mature yourself. Why not just let her pass and ignore her comment? Following her and acting like a spoiled brat yourself teaches your daughter exactly this.An eye for an eye? Maybe you had a strict upbringing and use your daughter for a revenge campaign? Go look for some anger management coaching. She ( the lady) sure hit a nerve on you.
He was immature but others also get bullied by her and he said in the comments that they continually nag him because her twin sister has adhd, so he's totally fed up. She met the right person. I bet she bullies loads of parents who all just let it glide because that's the grown up thing to do, but then nobody ever stops this.
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I used to work at a bookstore that every Friday we would do children's story time. We had a retired kindergarten teacher as our story time employee and she rocked the stories. She would have the children laughing and giggling. Yeah. it was a bit noisy in the store but it was only a half hour and we never had a complaint until this old bitty came in and demanded that we shut them up, "Children should be seen not heard!" The store manager just told her, "I'm sorry that the sound of children's laughter offends you. Maybe you should go someplace else. We will continue to host story time for children's at this time." Some old people are just nasty.
Thank God someone with sense! People really need to lighten up and get over themselves. I was just happy to see a Father dealing with his kid at a store. That is soooo rare.
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Imagine you just want to mind your business and want to shop in peace. Maybe your mood isn't too great either because of whatever and some dad fooling around with his daughter, beeing absolutely annoying and teaching his child to be annoying in public space...
Imagine you just mind your own business when you want to mind your business and want to shop in peace. Read the first paragraph again, nobody was hurt in the quiet deli corner.
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This is the kind of senior who will never understand why their children aren't visiting.
I have no problems with the cart being controlled by you. I have issues with small children running around supermarkets with their small carts. I sometimes have balance issues and I wouldn't want to have one run into me or me them. But hey, you continue being a cool and fun Dad. We need more of them.
When my children were young back in the early 80S we were at the mall and my daughter through a huge roll on floor tantrum because I wouldn't take her to the toy store.. I let it happen then when she was done I swatted her bottom and told her we don't act like that , and old lady got in my business and said "I would never spank my child in public, and I should wait till I got home" I told her in the 2 hrs when I would be home my daughter would have no clue as to why she was being reprimanded and that she probably had some mal-adjusted kids who didn't know right from wrong..she stormed off right quick
Miserable people can’t stand to see others happy and enjoying life.
Wow there's way too many comments that agree with the old lady here. That's not okay. He wasn't bothering anyone before she decided to come up and bother them. He didn't even follow her around, just happenstance.
Seriously. It even says he didn't do it when anyone else was around and even made sure to spin the cart in an area big enough to do so. I don't get it. If it's not harming anyone or anything, let him have fun with his daughter. I mean, maybe he went a little far with constantly bringing up what the woman did every time they saw her but other than that, I don't see the harm in anything they did.
Load More Replies... The one person who answered said the man called her a whore for blocking the chicken??? He'd be picking his dentures up off the floor!!!
I'm so sick of people using the name Karen as an insult (and no, my name is not Karen). Not only is it unfair to people named Karen, but it's basically stereotyping white women in a way that other demographic groups would find wildly offensive if we did it to them. (For the record, I would never use a name typically associated with a particular demographic groups to refer to random members of that demographic group I didn't like.)
You did nothing wrong!!! People who are complaining about you have a little fun while shopping are probably just as miserable as your cranky bullie! We husband used to do the same thing with our kids. That was back then when people didn't have stick's in there butts. Also great job on showing your daughter how builles are at any age!!
An appropriate initial answer would have been: "Honey, remember, we can only do this when there are no other customers. Let's take break while this lady does her shopping in this area. Maybe we can do it again later. But for now, can you help me find the (any item from shopping list)". PS: Of course, (insert first name) can be used instead of "honey" without making the answer rudeor petty ;)
If it's an almost empty store, sure who cares as long as she doesn't crash into anything. If it isn't then it's inappropriate as those things are difficult enough to drive and would hurt a lot if she slammed it into someone. I wonder if the dad would have thought it was as fun if she knocked something over, would he pick it up? Would he pay if something broke? Idk If she did it in an open area and kept to herself then it's not the worst thing ever, but if it's a smaller store then I can see why it's annoying
I can't stand parents using the grocery store as a nonstop joyride and set for insta shots of forced cuteness while being oblivious to other people trying to shop. I'm busy and do not want to wait for you to teach your kid how to bag groceries. Usually, I am on a disabled person's dime and that extra 5 minutes is now 5 minutes of help they don't get. That being said, if you aren't making other people wait or getting in their way, enjoy the process. Make it fun. Teach your kids. They both sound kind of entitled and unaware that other people exist.
Good lord, is the OP 5? You were just as much of a bully as the lady was, and you used a lot of profanity in front of your little girl. OP sounds like he was really needing attention from everyone with the racecar circles, making sure to look around to make sure everyone was smiling. So weird. Dad sounds like he is rude, disrespectful, and really obnoxious.
As a person who has balance issues, I would have been in tears over the harassment and bullying this "wonderful"dad was showing his child. Another case of it's all about me
I just wonder how many people went out of their way to abuse the elderly lady before she ran into them. My mom is a senior and I hear about people being rude to her constantly when all she wants to do is go about her day without someone risking her safety. What is the cart had a faulty wheel or his grip wasn't as good? What if the woman had gotten bad news before hand? And stalking her through the store? Of course she was upset. I wonder how much information on his own behavior he left out.
so he went from a good teaching moment to teaching the child how to bully and taunt ? so standing up to a bully means you become one ?
As a 70+, I hate it when the old grumpies start. My adult daughter caught a bus, walked past a number of seats and sat ner the back. Up comes grumpy and tells her to move as she always sits there. Daughter refuses and points out that there are a number of seats G has passed. My son needed an ear op and couldn't hear too well. He had run ahead of me to look in his fav shop and didn't hear when I called him back. Another Grumpy told me that he should get a smack. Informed her of the situation . He had come straight away when I touched his shoulder and he had faced me.
Someone already said the word: You sound insufferable. And stuffy, selfish and arrogant af - and regarding you labeling the elderly lady a bully: Take a look in the mirror, pal.
This guy is mean and he's the bully and no I'm not trolling. It's sad he's not able to see how big of an a-hole he is. Is it okay to use swear words to a little girl and continuously harrass other people? His daughters only being taught to be a-hole! girl. Little does she know people don't think daddy's cool and as she grows she's going to look at everyone being beneath her. She'll yell loudly in the store not respecting anyone. Especially her elders. I hope dad isn't around much in her life. Stop teaching her to be a rude brat and let her mom teach her how to grow up because dad's a cruel person who bully's a person then goes online to get somebody to agree with him.
"She ruined my shopping outing, I hope I ruined her entire day." No more words needed. Weird though how delighted he was to use every single chance he had to bully her. Sounded like he enjoyed "teaching" her daughter how to be a petty a***e quite a bit...and still his shopping outing was "ruined"?!? Such an entitled jerk.
Quite honestly I don't even believe most of this story. But, even if every word is absolute truth, this man set a terrible example for his child, not only using the F word to a stranger, in front of his child, but then going out of his way to harass the woman all over the store. That's not teaching your child to stand up to bullies, that's teaching your child to BE a bully.
Great, another parent teaching their child to be petty and selfish.
Even by the op account of story he comes off as the much bigger entitled bully but as we know there are always 2 sides to every story so my guess if we knew the actual accuate story he is a huge freaking a--hole.
As a disabled person myself he sounds like a complete twat. Shopping carts bloody Hurt when you get smacked with one. It's likely the lady has been clipped by one before and will be wary therefore scared of it happening again. Older people have fragile skin and a shopping cart can cause injury (bleeding too if varicose veins). By then Deliberately running towards the older lady and stopping at the Last moment would have been scary for her. Shouting (or 'loudly') yelling about upsetting the fun police At her And encouraging his daughter to do it too is Bullying. He's just taught his wee lass that bullying an older woman is acceptable and to be seen as fun. Nasty piece of a father. It's a supermarket Not a play park. Behave accordingly and be mindful and respectful to other shoppers. Not all disabilities are obvious, you never know how much pain someone is in. He then deliberately set her up too so she won't be believed. Going shopping can be the Only time lonely people can see others.
This story sounds fake and the guy telling it sounds insufferable. If someone wrongs you in public, you deal with it and move on, you don't keep the bit/grudge going, and deliberately further antagonise with petty comments like "we don't want to anger the FUN POLICE." Saying things like "I hope I ruined her whole day" is childish and mean. He could have responded to this with grace and positivity. Yes, she should have minded her own business instead of coming over to judge his parenting, but the response comes across as disproportionate.
Yeah, if this isn't a troll post he absolutely went overboard with his immature acting. You shouldn't play in a store so if someone reprimands you for that, just let it go. Don't use your kid to misbehave and be a jerk with all that "fun police" stuff.
Load More Replies... Sorry, with old lady in this. Supermarkets are not playgrounds. The car trolleys are there as a polite way to keep your kids from running round the store. The guy bullied the old lady. What is that teaching his daughter? he sounds like a total jerk. The fact that he thinks he is being trolled by people who are disagreeing with him speaks volumes.
Don't get your groceries in Holland then. They have small charts for the kids to play with.
Load More Replies... OP has taught his extremely perceptive daughter that it is perfectly okay to harass and annoy people. The older woman was wrong, no doubt, but OP took everything to the extreme.
I'm with the old lady on this one, this guy sounds like an absolute dïck and he's teaching his daughter to follow in his footsteps.
But he wasn't obstructing or harming the old lady in any way. She attacked him without provocation.
Load More Replies... I get that the lady may not have had to mingle with you, if you really did this, where nobody could be harmed or disturbed. But if the father itself is not a Troll I have to say, you are not very mature yourself. Why not just let her pass and ignore her comment? Following her and acting like a spoiled brat yourself teaches your daughter exactly this.An eye for an eye? Maybe you had a strict upbringing and use your daughter for a revenge campaign? Go look for some anger management coaching. She ( the lady) sure hit a nerve on you.
He was immature but others also get bullied by her and he said in the comments that they continually nag him because her twin sister has adhd, so he's totally fed up. She met the right person. I bet she bullies loads of parents who all just let it glide because that's the grown up thing to do, but then nobody ever stops this.
Load More Replies... I used to work at a bookstore that every Friday we would do children's story time. We had a retired kindergarten teacher as our story time employee and she rocked the stories. She would have the children laughing and giggling. Yeah. it was a bit noisy in the store but it was only a half hour and we never had a complaint until this old bitty came in and demanded that we shut them up, "Children should be seen not heard!" The store manager just told her, "I'm sorry that the sound of children's laughter offends you. Maybe you should go someplace else. We will continue to host story time for children's at this time." Some old people are just nasty.
Thank God someone with sense! People really need to lighten up and get over themselves. I was just happy to see a Father dealing with his kid at a store. That is soooo rare.
Load More Replies... Imagine you just want to mind your business and want to shop in peace. Maybe your mood isn't too great either because of whatever and some dad fooling around with his daughter, beeing absolutely annoying and teaching his child to be annoying in public space...
Imagine you just mind your own business when you want to mind your business and want to shop in peace. Read the first paragraph again, nobody was hurt in the quiet deli corner.
Load More Replies... This is the kind of senior who will never understand why their children aren't visiting.
I have no problems with the cart being controlled by you. I have issues with small children running around supermarkets with their small carts. I sometimes have balance issues and I wouldn't want to have one run into me or me them. But hey, you continue being a cool and fun Dad. We need more of them.
When my children were young back in the early 80S we were at the mall and my daughter through a huge roll on floor tantrum because I wouldn't take her to the toy store.. I let it happen then when she was done I swatted her bottom and told her we don't act like that , and old lady got in my business and said "I would never spank my child in public, and I should wait till I got home" I told her in the 2 hrs when I would be home my daughter would have no clue as to why she was being reprimanded and that she probably had some mal-adjusted kids who didn't know right from wrong..she stormed off right quick
Miserable people can’t stand to see others happy and enjoying life.
Wow there's way too many comments that agree with the old lady here. That's not okay. He wasn't bothering anyone before she decided to come up and bother them. He didn't even follow her around, just happenstance.
Seriously. It even says he didn't do it when anyone else was around and even made sure to spin the cart in an area big enough to do so. I don't get it. If it's not harming anyone or anything, let him have fun with his daughter. I mean, maybe he went a little far with constantly bringing up what the woman did every time they saw her but other than that, I don't see the harm in anything they did.
Load More Replies... The one person who answered said the man called her a whore for blocking the chicken??? He'd be picking his dentures up off the floor!!!
I'm so sick of people using the name Karen as an insult (and no, my name is not Karen). Not only is it unfair to people named Karen, but it's basically stereotyping white women in a way that other demographic groups would find wildly offensive if we did it to them. (For the record, I would never use a name typically associated with a particular demographic groups to refer to random members of that demographic group I didn't like.)
You did nothing wrong!!! People who are complaining about you have a little fun while shopping are probably just as miserable as your cranky bullie! We husband used to do the same thing with our kids. That was back then when people didn't have stick's in there butts. Also great job on showing your daughter how builles are at any age!!
An appropriate initial answer would have been: "Honey, remember, we can only do this when there are no other customers. Let's take break while this lady does her shopping in this area. Maybe we can do it again later. But for now, can you help me find the (any item from shopping list)". PS: Of course, (insert first name) can be used instead of "honey" without making the answer rudeor petty ;)
If it's an almost empty store, sure who cares as long as she doesn't crash into anything. If it isn't then it's inappropriate as those things are difficult enough to drive and would hurt a lot if she slammed it into someone. I wonder if the dad would have thought it was as fun if she knocked something over, would he pick it up? Would he pay if something broke? Idk If she did it in an open area and kept to herself then it's not the worst thing ever, but if it's a smaller store then I can see why it's annoying
I can't stand parents using the grocery store as a nonstop joyride and set for insta shots of forced cuteness while being oblivious to other people trying to shop. I'm busy and do not want to wait for you to teach your kid how to bag groceries. Usually, I am on a disabled person's dime and that extra 5 minutes is now 5 minutes of help they don't get. That being said, if you aren't making other people wait or getting in their way, enjoy the process. Make it fun. Teach your kids. They both sound kind of entitled and unaware that other people exist.
Good lord, is the OP 5? You were just as much of a bully as the lady was, and you used a lot of profanity in front of your little girl. OP sounds like he was really needing attention from everyone with the racecar circles, making sure to look around to make sure everyone was smiling. So weird. Dad sounds like he is rude, disrespectful, and really obnoxious.
As a person who has balance issues, I would have been in tears over the harassment and bullying this "wonderful"dad was showing his child. Another case of it's all about me
I just wonder how many people went out of their way to abuse the elderly lady before she ran into them. My mom is a senior and I hear about people being rude to her constantly when all she wants to do is go about her day without someone risking her safety. What is the cart had a faulty wheel or his grip wasn't as good? What if the woman had gotten bad news before hand? And stalking her through the store? Of course she was upset. I wonder how much information on his own behavior he left out.
so he went from a good teaching moment to teaching the child how to bully and taunt ? so standing up to a bully means you become one ?
As a 70+, I hate it when the old grumpies start. My adult daughter caught a bus, walked past a number of seats and sat ner the back. Up comes grumpy and tells her to move as she always sits there. Daughter refuses and points out that there are a number of seats G has passed. My son needed an ear op and couldn't hear too well. He had run ahead of me to look in his fav shop and didn't hear when I called him back. Another Grumpy told me that he should get a smack. Informed her of the situation . He had come straight away when I touched his shoulder and he had faced me.
Someone already said the word: You sound insufferable. And stuffy, selfish and arrogant af - and regarding you labeling the elderly lady a bully: Take a look in the mirror, pal.
This guy is mean and he's the bully and no I'm not trolling. It's sad he's not able to see how big of an a-hole he is. Is it okay to use swear words to a little girl and continuously harrass other people? His daughters only being taught to be a-hole! girl. Little does she know people don't think daddy's cool and as she grows she's going to look at everyone being beneath her. She'll yell loudly in the store not respecting anyone. Especially her elders. I hope dad isn't around much in her life. Stop teaching her to be a rude brat and let her mom teach her how to grow up because dad's a cruel person who bully's a person then goes online to get somebody to agree with him.
"She ruined my shopping outing, I hope I ruined her entire day." No more words needed. Weird though how delighted he was to use every single chance he had to bully her. Sounded like he enjoyed "teaching" her daughter how to be a petty a***e quite a bit...and still his shopping outing was "ruined"?!? Such an entitled jerk.
Quite honestly I don't even believe most of this story. But, even if every word is absolute truth, this man set a terrible example for his child, not only using the F word to a stranger, in front of his child, but then going out of his way to harass the woman all over the store. That's not teaching your child to stand up to bullies, that's teaching your child to BE a bully.
Great, another parent teaching their child to be petty and selfish.
Even by the op account of story he comes off as the much bigger entitled bully but as we know there are always 2 sides to every story so my guess if we knew the actual accuate story he is a huge freaking a--hole.
As a disabled person myself he sounds like a complete twat. Shopping carts bloody Hurt when you get smacked with one. It's likely the lady has been clipped by one before and will be wary therefore scared of it happening again. Older people have fragile skin and a shopping cart can cause injury (bleeding too if varicose veins). By then Deliberately running towards the older lady and stopping at the Last moment would have been scary for her. Shouting (or 'loudly') yelling about upsetting the fun police At her And encouraging his daughter to do it too is Bullying. He's just taught his wee lass that bullying an older woman is acceptable and to be seen as fun. Nasty piece of a father. It's a supermarket Not a play park. Behave accordingly and be mindful and respectful to other shoppers. Not all disabilities are obvious, you never know how much pain someone is in. He then deliberately set her up too so she won't be believed. Going shopping can be the Only time lonely people can see others.
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