Does everyone have that little pang of anxiety whenever they’re ordering food? Every time I attempt to order something, it’s as if I’m reading off a script in my head. And if the cashier somehow derails it, I need a second to rally my dozen brain cells to correct myself.
This mom-turned-influencer showed off one of her kids ordering some food at Dairy Queen without a single sign of that anxiety, even getting something for his little bro, although this hasn’t gone without upsetting some netizens and customer service workers.
More info: TikTok
Teaching your kids to be independent is difficult, as you can never tell what’s too independent
Image credits: Jeremy Bishop
According to Ashlyn, she didn’t intend for her son to order, but he just launched into it
Image credits: @ashlyn_ross
He ordered for himself, his brother and attempted to order some more food, when mom stopped him
Image credits: @ashlyn_ross
Watch the original video here:
@ashlyn_ross At first I tried to tell Cove that DQ didnt allow kids to order 🙈 but as you can see- he got his way. #cove #dairyqueen #dq #toddlerordersdairyqueen #funnytoddlers #boymom #momsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Ashlyn Ross
According to Ashlyn’s comments, people appreciate her kids ordering, saying that it makes their day
Although the video garnered quite a lot of controversy, Ashlyn Ross, the mom in the video, didn’t agree with it. She mentioned in the comments that a bunch of people are writing negative comments, while the DQ staff are never rude and say that the kids make their day, giving them some extra treats as well.
According to Parenting From The Heart, letting your kids order their own food can be empowering for them. Kids finding that they can do things like these single-handedly can be a huge boost in self esteem for them. This will also allow them to build confidence when speaking with adults, as we usually tell kids not to talk to strangers, so this may be a good opportunity for them to connect positively.
Parenting From The Heart goes on to say that it’s ultimately up to you to decide when kids are ready to order for themselves, but a lot of kids are ready at 3 years of age, when given 2 choices. If you’d like to know how you can foster your kids’ independence, Mommy Nearest has some good tips.
One thing you can do is give them chores, as it helps kids understand responsibility, help with time management and goal-setting. An important thing is giving them a regular allowance. If they complete weekly chores, you can give them an agreed-upon sum of money. This will help them understand the value of money and kindle financial skills early on.
Another good idea is allowing them to do things on their own. Instead of grabbing things out of their hands and doing stuff for them, you should let them struggle at times and figure things out on their own. This will improve their confidence and grow independence skills, which will be necessary in the future.
Image credits: @ashlyn_ross
But what to do if you’re on the other side of the barricade and the child, while independent, is less than polite?
Being the Parent has some good advice when it comes to dealing with bratty kids, whether you’re a family member or a stranger.
Before saying anything, you should check your own feelings. It’s easy to get offended and snap back, but a lot of the time kids are still learning about social norms and may be acting out on feelings that they don’t quite understand.
Therefore it’s always best to just play the waiting game, rather than say something offensive to the kid and risk hurting them and upsetting their parents as well.
Counting to five could help you collect yourself and think the situation over before you do something inadvertent.
If you or your kids aren’t involved in the unknown kids being rude, it’s best to just avoid it, instead of getting into a conflict. But if you see that the situation is getting out of hand, with someone’s health being at risk or the child possibly being able to cause major damage, you may step in and reprimand the child, ideally involving their parents.
Although, when parents get involved and they’re just as bad or even worse than the kids, it’s a whole ‘nother can of worms.
The mom’s clip collected more than 560k views, with a bit more than 46k likes. Among the 291 there were loads of opinions. Some people said they love the kid and that his ordering is super cute, while others said that it’s already hard enough for customer service workers to understand what people are saying to the ordering machines and that it would have been better to spare them the hassle.
Comments were conflicted, with some people saying that it was super cute, while others said that it’s super annoying
Why isn't he buckled in his car seat? Since the pictures show you at the drive through technically the vehicle is still in motion. Way to go, Mom!
Cars get rear ended in drive-thrus. Not every day, but often enough. If that happens, and your child is injured because they weren’t buckled up, it’s on you. You let your kid get hurt because you thought they were being cute. It’s bad parenting.
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Normally I would say having a kid learn how to order food on their own would be an amazing step towards independence. But you have to make sure you're not doing it in a way that is inconveniencing to other people. I've ordered through drive through windows, and I've used walkie talkies. Both of those are notorious for having terrible sound quality, so a little kid who still can't talk properly trying to yell into the speaker is not going to work.
Exactly! I wait tables, and it can be very frustrating when the parent has their child order. It's fine if they already prepped their kid what to say to me. But when I'm trying to take the order and ask what they want and the kid orders something we don't even serve, or they start talking about something not related to food, and I have to stand there while the parent tells their kid over and over to 'tell the lady what you want', it can back me up. I'm all about nurturing a child's independence, but not when it takes five minutes and I have food dying in the window and 20 other things to do it's annoying.
Load More Replies... Some people are very inconsiderate. This a drive thru, not a playground.
Why isn't he buckled in his car seat? Since the pictures show you at the drive through technically the vehicle is still in motion. Way to go, Mom!
Cars get rear ended in drive-thrus. Not every day, but often enough. If that happens, and your child is injured because they weren’t buckled up, it’s on you. You let your kid get hurt because you thought they were being cute. It’s bad parenting.
Load More Replies... Normally I would say having a kid learn how to order food on their own would be an amazing step towards independence. But you have to make sure you're not doing it in a way that is inconveniencing to other people. I've ordered through drive through windows, and I've used walkie talkies. Both of those are notorious for having terrible sound quality, so a little kid who still can't talk properly trying to yell into the speaker is not going to work.
Exactly! I wait tables, and it can be very frustrating when the parent has their child order. It's fine if they already prepped their kid what to say to me. But when I'm trying to take the order and ask what they want and the kid orders something we don't even serve, or they start talking about something not related to food, and I have to stand there while the parent tells their kid over and over to 'tell the lady what you want', it can back me up. I'm all about nurturing a child's independence, but not when it takes five minutes and I have food dying in the window and 20 other things to do it's annoying.
Load More Replies... Some people are very inconsiderate. This a drive thru, not a playground.
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