“I Thought That Was Incredibly Rude And Uncalled For”: Woman Loses It At This Parent In A Store Who Let Their Kid Use The Self-Checkout
Self-reliance is underrated these days. Instead of teaching their kids how to develop the skills that they’ll need later in life, some parents choose to do everything for them. Helping your children develop a sense of independence is definitely a good idea. The main question is when do you step in with a helping hand while they’re figuring things out on their own?
A recent post on the AITA subreddit split the online community. A parent, going by the username u/LearnAsPractice, shared how they taught their 7-year-old son how to operate a self-checkout counter at their local grocery store. However, it was a fairly busy day and an angry woman yelled at them for taking so long. This prompted the parent to turn to the internet for their verdict about what happened.
You’ll find the OP’s full post, as well as how other internet users reacted to everything, below. The story really divided the internet. Bored Panda has reached out to u/LearnAsPractice via Reddit, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from them.
Bored Panda also got in touch with Lenore Skenazy, the president of Let Grow, a nonprofit promoting childhood independence and resilience, the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement, and a writer for Reason.com. Skenazy was kind enough to answer our questions about the useful skills that parents can teach their children and at what age kids can start lending a hand. Read on for our interview with her.
Many people will agree that teaching kids to be self-reliant is a good thing, however, they might disagree about the best circumstances to do so
Image source: Repnitskaya (not the actual photo)
A parent turned to the internet for advice on whether it was wrong for them to teach their son how to use the self-checkout counter at their local grocery store
Image source: Vladdeep (not the actual photo)
Image source: LearnAsPractice
“They say the job of a parent is to put themselves out of a job. That means raising kids who can do even more things on their own. Most skills don’t show up overnight—they’re acquired by actually doing them. Starting when? Now!” Skenazy urged parents to start as soon as possible.
“The youngest kids can help with laundry, putting things away, helping with dinner. And they don’t need to only help at home. Starting at age 5, 6, or 7 they really are capable of getting themselves out the door to play, walk the dog, run errands. We’ve forgotten how competent kids can be,” she told Bored Panda.
“And while they might sometimes whine, the bottom line is kids LIKE being useful. They don’t want to just GET things, they want to be givers, too. Letting them become a truly functioning part of the family means less stress for parents, more self-confidence for kids. If you need inspiration, watch the Japanese show ‘Old Enough,’ featuring kids of kindergarten and even pre-school age going to the market on their own. It’s not just adorable, it’s inspiring,” she explained.
“And if you need a little help—or your other spouse does—in letting kids start doing more on their own, ask your child’s teacher to assign The Let Grow Project. That way all the students in the class get the homework assignment: Go home and do something new, on your own, without your parent. It’s easier to let go when all the other parents are doing the same—and all the kids are comparing notes! What’s more, The Let Grow Project materials are free and the assignment takes barely any class time. See how quickly BOTH generations—you and your kids—can start feeling more brave and optimistic!”
According to Skenazy, these independence lessons can start as early as kindergarten. “The Let Grow Project is for kids K-12. The kindergarteners might learn to pack their own backpack or go two aisles away from you in the store to find the cereal, or even walk to school if you teach them how to cross the street safely and to never go off with anyone. (A better lesson than ‘stranger-danger.’)” However, it’s not just small kids who find the project useful.
“We’ve also heard from high school students doing The Let Grow Project and finally driving more than a few miles from the house, or making dinner for the whole family, or picking up a younger sibling from soccer. All these things are real-world activities that make them feel proud and actually make life easier for the parents. It’s a win/win/win. The Let Grow motto is, ‘When adults step back, kids step up.’ So take a step back and watch your child blossom!”
The author of the post shared some more information in the comments underneath their story
The people reading the story on Reddit were very split on who was in the wrong. Some sided with the parent for taking it upon themselves to teach their child a new skill, encouraging him to be more independent. After all, there’s no ‘perfect’ time to teach someone these things—you take opportunities as you see them.
Others, however, were far less sympathetic. Some blamed the parent for doing this while there was a line at the self-checkout counters, and suggested that coming back during a less busy time would have been the right way to go.
In the OP’s defense, they noted that there were around 10 counters at the store. It’s also natural that some people use self-checkout quicker than others. Yes, we’re all in a rush. But, objectively speaking, if you feel the need to yell and curse at a fellow customer, whoever they might be, then there are clearly other issues at play here, not spending a few extra minutes at the grocery store.
All in all, the vast majority of redditors thought that both the parent who wrote the post and the woman who got mad at them and their son were in the wrong.
It’s inevitable that at some point in your life, you’ll end up having to deal with rude people. How you approach these situations really depends on your character. Some people choose to ignore their verbal abusers completely because they feel that it’s best to cut off the one thing that they desire the most—an emotional reaction and attention.
Others, however, choose a more proactive approach and set very clear, healthy boundaries. Nobody deserves to be cursed at their local store. Especially in front of their child. Nobody’s saying that you should get into a shouting match with a stranger, but you might want to consider telling them in a calm, firm manner that how they’re behaving is unacceptable. If they continue to harass you, either leave or reach out to a member of staff to help mediate the situation.
It’s completely natural to feel upset in situations like these. You feel wronged somehow. However, what you really want to avoid doing is holding on to your anger and obsessing about the interaction for days and weeks to come. Try to accept what happened and move on. The best victory is not letting someone who was rude to you live rent-free in your head.
Similarly, if you feel a wave of hatred for everyone wash over you just from standing in a queue at the grocery store, you really need to sit down and think about the core reasons leading to this. Perhaps you’re stressed at work. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the current bizarre economic situation. Or you might have a lot to worry about at home. That random person teaching their 7-year-old how to scan items at the self-checkout isn’t to blame for that.
Holding on to anger is incredibly bad for your health. It can lead to cardiovascular problems, metabolic diseases, and even digestive issues. Things like therapy, meditation, exercise, spending time outdoors, having a healthier work/life balance, making responsible financial decisions, and spending time with your loved ones can help you tackle your feelings of anger and stress. That way, you might be less inclined to lash out at strangers.
The internet was incredibly split about the situation. Some readers were completely in the parent’s corner
Others, however, thought that either the parent was in the wrong or that everyone acted like jerks
I commend the "learning by doing" approach to help him become more self-reliant, but perhaps it would have been better to go and do this when the grocery store wasn't that busy.
I completely agree with you. We need to teach our kids, but also have to make sure we are not causing a lot of inconvenience to others. That said, the second lady's remark was totally uncalled for, she could have said the same thing in a nicer way. Sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it. Thank you for listening to my TED rant.
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I have a child, and I've let him do this very thing, but only when there were plenty of open self-checkout areas, and no line. Had the store been busy, this would have been a no-go for me, and I'd just be sure to let my son try again at a less busy time.
That's the thing that strikes a cord with me about the whole situation that I can't fathom. The post says there was more than 10 self-check outs. Her and her son used one. The other nine were being used and I'm going to wager people going a lot faster so it's not like she was holding up the entire line herself. If there was one self-checkout and a line then I'd totally agree to either wait or do a few but there wasn't just one. I don't have kids, don't plan to have any but try to be patience at the self-check out.
Load More Replies... A lot of adults also have problems with self service check outs, particularly the first time. Everyone has to learn and not everyone has the luxury of going during quiet times. I don't think mom did anything wrong and the other customer would have had a mouthful back from me had I been in her position.
Yes, and this is unavoidable, but this particular situation totally was. Don't pick a busy Sunday and up to 20 items, instead let him scan just a few items or choose a moment when you realise it's quiet. It is not that hard...
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As a person who uses the self checkout lines, I see no problem whatsoever with this. saying that she's the ah because "it was a busy time" is stupid, since there were 9 more lines. Some people need to chill.
Exactly, people just don't have patience. Everyone that calls out OP for saying you should have done it on your own time are seriously lacking empathy and patience. It is never a great time to have a teachable moment with your kid. That's life, we have to have patience for the inconveniences of others. I don't like the slow scanners and the ones that pay six different cards for one cart but I chose to leave the house to go shopping. So you just have to wait. Ten minutes late is no different then thirty minutes. You should plan for inconveniences in life. Otherwise you will always be in a bad mood.
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The OOP said it took 10 min for the kid to checkout 15 things on a busy Sunday, I don't care if I get downvoted but it's an ESH and inconsiderate to everyone else waiting in line.
I agree that it's important to teach your child how to do this stuff, and the lady was unnecessarily rude, but having your kid check out about 10-20 items for the first time while the store is busy is definitely not the best decision. 3-4 times for the first time would be quite enough, or, alternatively, come early in the morning when there are almost nobody there and teach them to your heart content.
Yeah, let him do a few and then take over if it was busy. Would that have been so terrible? He still would've learned.
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People are always in a hurry nowadays. If your in that much of a hurry. Plan your day better/set out earlier if possible. 😊
I work 13 hour days and spend over an hour in the car on top of that, so yeah I'm generally in a hurry and don't need someone inconsiderately and unnecessarily taking up more of my time. I'm allowed to be in a hurry, and while you are allowed to be what I refer to as an "In the way mf'er" you are an AH for doing so.
Load More Replies... Here's a question for everyone who says "YTA" and I'm legit curious. If the woman started with "I'm disabled/mentally disabled/pregnant/blind/etc but I wanted to try the self check out myself for the first time" and the woman bitched about her being slow...would she still be TA for going through self check out or would everyone still say "oh you should've gone through when it's slow"
I would still 100% say they should've gone through when it's slow. My time is not yours to waste. Have some consideration for other people's time, it's a perfectly reasonable request.
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I was at the market checking out and there was a pregnant woman behind me with one item. I let her go in front of me and the woman behind her says " son of a b**** " so I told her she is a classy lady and has complete command of the English language.
ESH. Teach / Entertain your kid when it only impacts your time. I've fumed over this as well (also at library kiosk self-check ins, one book at a time and they have 20 books to return) and there is no drop box. But the other person shouldn't have been nasty about it. It's part of interacting with humans, the obliviousness to anyone else's needs but their own.
Don't care how busy it was, the mother was perfectly fine to do what she did. That customer had a bug up her butt and it had little to do with waiting. What if it were an elderly person or someone with a disability? Should they only shop when it isn't busy so that that woman doesn't get *inconvenienced*?
The YTA comments are mathematically incontinent. Assuming the following: 1/There are 10 available checkouts 2/The child scanned 20 items 3/Each item took the child a full minute (60 seconds) longer to scan than it would an adult Then each person in the queue had to queue for an additional two minutes. Imagine shouting at a stranger because your supermarket experience took two minutes longer. Unless you are an ambulance driver who is travelling to a five-car crash in which multiple people may die unless you get there in time (but you just need to buy yourself a Twix first) you can probably survive waiting an additional two minutes.
I work in a restaurant and while I appreciate teaching your child to be independent, it so annoying when a kid is struggling trying to give me their order when I have like 10 other things to do. Have situational awareness. If it's busy, that's not the time to teach your child independence.
I would rather teach my child about how and when to be considerate to others than teach him about how to operate a grocery check-out. Instead, the OP taught the kid the exact opposite of the first. So, learning-wise, the day was a net loss for the child.
Maybe teach your kid to have patience and life is full of inconveniences and to plan for those inconveniences.
Load More Replies... NTA plain and simple. As a former cashier, I know that anyone can take forever. It doesn't matter what day it was. She might be the type to only bully someone "weaker" than her. She sounded like the type who would make a stink face at someone going slowly who clearly has a disability. She only bitched at the mum and son but by her own logic should've bitched at everyone else in front of her, simply for making her wait at all. Life is life, sometimes we have to wait patiently. She's the type customer service workers will say "Have a nice day" so sweetly that it really means "f**k you".
No matter what time, self checkouts are there, whether it is being used "normally" or teaching kids. And it doesn't matter if kids or adults or elderly people using those, sometimes they have problems. And self checkouts are likely not only one, customers wait in one line, and whoever first in line, they can use the open ones. I think people have to start teaching their kids early, and also have tolerance more towards other.
Its is nice to teach a kid to do things on their own, but we have to pick the right time, not when the place is pretty busy like that. If there's no one there, go ahead, but when there's people waiting, do it yourself.
She called a seven year old boy an arsehole. She must have a miserable life, I hope so anyway, what a c*nt.
proper response to "Thanks for doing it as slow as possible A*****e"? "no problem cünt! have a fu¢king sh¡t day!"
Someone needs to get over themselves and stop trying to spread their bad day/negative energy to others. Imagine if the woman had instead said to the child "you did a great job!"
Imagine if the parent had said to the child "not today sweetie, you can do it when there aren't people waiting behind us."
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The op could have let their son scan a few items, but then there could have been another teachable moment where they said, "look, there is a line forming and we need to go faster so that people can pay for their shopping, shall we do it together?" Let the kid have a go *and* teach them respect for others' time.
NTA good training skills mum....I did the same with all my children and grandchildren when I have them
Definitely NTA. There were TEN checkouts and they were using ONE. No store is that busy on a normal sunday that it would be a problem. The other customer just wanted to be a jerk.
I think the fact that there were ten checkouts and all were constantly in use and there was still a queue shows how busy it was. A perfect time to do this would be when the other some of the checkouts were empty then it wouldn’t matter if she had spent all day at her one.
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There's always a good chance that you will have to wait on line at a grocery store and that whatever line that you are in will have some sort of delay, it's not that big of deal and it is the cost of doing business in the world. It also sounds like there were other registers open and that the individual who was teaching her son wasn't using all of them.
The snarky comment to the first YTA makes it pretty clear that they didn't come here to get opinions but to be praised for their hans on parenting style... Yes, train your child, but have a little more awareness of your surroundings and do it on a slow day and /or with fewer items...
As others have said, it depends how busy it was and we have to bear in mind my idea of an acceptable wait time could be different from the next person. I've done this with my kid but again, not when it's busy, so it's hard to say if OP is the AH or not. However, if anyone used profanity at me in front of my kid, Mamma Bear would definitely rear her ugly head.
I am in a wheelchair so it takes me longer to self check out then most others. Should I be yelled at due to my slowness?
All these morons who called this person the A-hole need to go jump off a pier into freezing cold water. As I read it, there are MANY machines. So what if one takes too long the others open up when done. If someone complained to me about it I would for sure, have the purchase re scanned to make sure nothing was missed the first time. Screw these idiots who think their time is more important than a mom or dad doing a teaching moment with their kid.
I go to the grocery store with the mindset of 'I have time for this' and let the time be what it is. Children take time, whether for tantrums or learning, or they wander off and must be herded back to the cart. For 10-20 items, it's fine for the self-checkout. More items need to be considered if time allows, if not, do it another time. The other grown-ups need to show their 'adultness' too.
Especially if there is a line, people would like it to move as efficiently as possible, and there is nothing to do but watch the other people checking out, lol. It wasn't critical that a seven-year-old learn how to self-checkout at that very moment. It was more of a toy for him at that point - obviously he won't be buying groceries on his own for a long time. Do it when there's no line (or let him scan one item....). But the lady was rude in her response and choice of words, no question.
I was behind an older gentleman in the self checkout and he was taking a really long time (I'm pretty sure it was because of his arthritis), but I had no where to be so it didn't matter to me. But the "Oh So Important B*tch" behind me kept sighing, loudly. I turned around and said, "God, I certainly hope YOU never get to live this long". The old man laughed and said "Good one!", while she stood there looking like the complete a$$hole she is. Someone had to teach you how to use a spoon, you entitled little c*nt.
There is always going to be a line at checkout, whether self or assisted. It's a fact of life. The people in a hurry are the same ones who'll have a cart full of groceries & won't let the person with a baguette & a gallon of milk go first.
I just in general think self checkouts are for people who are quick. I don’t say anything for people being slow but you can see people are getting annoyed. In some supermarkets where I live you can scan and pay on your phone. Then it gives you a bar code and with that you can exit. That’s ideal. No lane and no wait.
Learning by doing is a great way to teach kids, however, OP was not just teaching their kid how to use a self checkout, but also teaching them to be rude and inconsiderate to others. Do it when it's slow, even if that means going when it's inconvenient to you. Not defending the other rude person, btw, but OP was definitely the original AH here.
Totally TA. The world doesn't revolve around your child. I applaud encouraging him but not when there's a line of others with equally important lives and time. Another lesson to teach is being cognizant of others, which was missed here. That said, the other lady was also TA, especially cursing in front of the kid.
All the people having ago probably don't have children! Children have to learn and the adults should be more understanding of that. If someone had ago at my child and me I'd clap back awwww thank you for waiting in a cheerful way to make them feel s**t about themselves. Ok getting downvoted! Right think of it this way if it was an old person or disabled person would you all still be alright with the person being a tw#t because they were going as slow as a child would? REALLY PEOPLE NEED TO THINK MORE OUT SIDE THE BOX. If the person is a d#ck with a child going slowly they would be a d#ck with anyone! F#CK what time of day it was. Wow again with the downvotes. The fact its a child has nowt to do with it. It's the fact the person is going slow. So old people, disabled people an any other slow person would have got the same reaction from the person. I say tuff cr#p they should learn patience is a virtue and wait RIGHT DOWNVOTES ARE FOR SPAM AND PEOPLE BEING RACIST AND SEXIST NOT BECAUSE YOU DISAGREE!
I think you need to relax a little. You sound like one of "those" parents that scream defensively at the very mention (gasp) that the world should not have to revolve around their kids. There was a logical way to handle this, have the child do a few and then finish the rest. ...also, people are still mean to you if you're old or disabled. God forbid you make them wait for anything.
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Aww, look at you...someone else's very own crotch fruit, all grown up, spouting nasty s**t about innocent kids. Classy.
Load More Replies... I commend the "learning by doing" approach to help him become more self-reliant, but perhaps it would have been better to go and do this when the grocery store wasn't that busy.
I completely agree with you. We need to teach our kids, but also have to make sure we are not causing a lot of inconvenience to others. That said, the second lady's remark was totally uncalled for, she could have said the same thing in a nicer way. Sometimes it's not what you say, it's how you say it. Thank you for listening to my TED rant.
Load More Replies... I have a child, and I've let him do this very thing, but only when there were plenty of open self-checkout areas, and no line. Had the store been busy, this would have been a no-go for me, and I'd just be sure to let my son try again at a less busy time.
That's the thing that strikes a cord with me about the whole situation that I can't fathom. The post says there was more than 10 self-check outs. Her and her son used one. The other nine were being used and I'm going to wager people going a lot faster so it's not like she was holding up the entire line herself. If there was one self-checkout and a line then I'd totally agree to either wait or do a few but there wasn't just one. I don't have kids, don't plan to have any but try to be patience at the self-check out.
Load More Replies... A lot of adults also have problems with self service check outs, particularly the first time. Everyone has to learn and not everyone has the luxury of going during quiet times. I don't think mom did anything wrong and the other customer would have had a mouthful back from me had I been in her position.
Yes, and this is unavoidable, but this particular situation totally was. Don't pick a busy Sunday and up to 20 items, instead let him scan just a few items or choose a moment when you realise it's quiet. It is not that hard...
Load More Replies... As a person who uses the self checkout lines, I see no problem whatsoever with this. saying that she's the ah because "it was a busy time" is stupid, since there were 9 more lines. Some people need to chill.
Exactly, people just don't have patience. Everyone that calls out OP for saying you should have done it on your own time are seriously lacking empathy and patience. It is never a great time to have a teachable moment with your kid. That's life, we have to have patience for the inconveniences of others. I don't like the slow scanners and the ones that pay six different cards for one cart but I chose to leave the house to go shopping. So you just have to wait. Ten minutes late is no different then thirty minutes. You should plan for inconveniences in life. Otherwise you will always be in a bad mood.
Load More Replies... The OOP said it took 10 min for the kid to checkout 15 things on a busy Sunday, I don't care if I get downvoted but it's an ESH and inconsiderate to everyone else waiting in line.
I agree that it's important to teach your child how to do this stuff, and the lady was unnecessarily rude, but having your kid check out about 10-20 items for the first time while the store is busy is definitely not the best decision. 3-4 times for the first time would be quite enough, or, alternatively, come early in the morning when there are almost nobody there and teach them to your heart content.
Yeah, let him do a few and then take over if it was busy. Would that have been so terrible? He still would've learned.
Load More Replies... People are always in a hurry nowadays. If your in that much of a hurry. Plan your day better/set out earlier if possible. 😊
I work 13 hour days and spend over an hour in the car on top of that, so yeah I'm generally in a hurry and don't need someone inconsiderately and unnecessarily taking up more of my time. I'm allowed to be in a hurry, and while you are allowed to be what I refer to as an "In the way mf'er" you are an AH for doing so.
Load More Replies... Here's a question for everyone who says "YTA" and I'm legit curious. If the woman started with "I'm disabled/mentally disabled/pregnant/blind/etc but I wanted to try the self check out myself for the first time" and the woman bitched about her being slow...would she still be TA for going through self check out or would everyone still say "oh you should've gone through when it's slow"
I would still 100% say they should've gone through when it's slow. My time is not yours to waste. Have some consideration for other people's time, it's a perfectly reasonable request.
Load More Replies... I was at the market checking out and there was a pregnant woman behind me with one item. I let her go in front of me and the woman behind her says " son of a b**** " so I told her she is a classy lady and has complete command of the English language.
ESH. Teach / Entertain your kid when it only impacts your time. I've fumed over this as well (also at library kiosk self-check ins, one book at a time and they have 20 books to return) and there is no drop box. But the other person shouldn't have been nasty about it. It's part of interacting with humans, the obliviousness to anyone else's needs but their own.
Don't care how busy it was, the mother was perfectly fine to do what she did. That customer had a bug up her butt and it had little to do with waiting. What if it were an elderly person or someone with a disability? Should they only shop when it isn't busy so that that woman doesn't get *inconvenienced*?
The YTA comments are mathematically incontinent. Assuming the following: 1/There are 10 available checkouts 2/The child scanned 20 items 3/Each item took the child a full minute (60 seconds) longer to scan than it would an adult Then each person in the queue had to queue for an additional two minutes. Imagine shouting at a stranger because your supermarket experience took two minutes longer. Unless you are an ambulance driver who is travelling to a five-car crash in which multiple people may die unless you get there in time (but you just need to buy yourself a Twix first) you can probably survive waiting an additional two minutes.
I work in a restaurant and while I appreciate teaching your child to be independent, it so annoying when a kid is struggling trying to give me their order when I have like 10 other things to do. Have situational awareness. If it's busy, that's not the time to teach your child independence.
I would rather teach my child about how and when to be considerate to others than teach him about how to operate a grocery check-out. Instead, the OP taught the kid the exact opposite of the first. So, learning-wise, the day was a net loss for the child.
Maybe teach your kid to have patience and life is full of inconveniences and to plan for those inconveniences.
Load More Replies... NTA plain and simple. As a former cashier, I know that anyone can take forever. It doesn't matter what day it was. She might be the type to only bully someone "weaker" than her. She sounded like the type who would make a stink face at someone going slowly who clearly has a disability. She only bitched at the mum and son but by her own logic should've bitched at everyone else in front of her, simply for making her wait at all. Life is life, sometimes we have to wait patiently. She's the type customer service workers will say "Have a nice day" so sweetly that it really means "f**k you".
No matter what time, self checkouts are there, whether it is being used "normally" or teaching kids. And it doesn't matter if kids or adults or elderly people using those, sometimes they have problems. And self checkouts are likely not only one, customers wait in one line, and whoever first in line, they can use the open ones. I think people have to start teaching their kids early, and also have tolerance more towards other.
Its is nice to teach a kid to do things on their own, but we have to pick the right time, not when the place is pretty busy like that. If there's no one there, go ahead, but when there's people waiting, do it yourself.
She called a seven year old boy an arsehole. She must have a miserable life, I hope so anyway, what a c*nt.
proper response to "Thanks for doing it as slow as possible A*****e"? "no problem cünt! have a fu¢king sh¡t day!"
Someone needs to get over themselves and stop trying to spread their bad day/negative energy to others. Imagine if the woman had instead said to the child "you did a great job!"
Imagine if the parent had said to the child "not today sweetie, you can do it when there aren't people waiting behind us."
Load More Replies... The op could have let their son scan a few items, but then there could have been another teachable moment where they said, "look, there is a line forming and we need to go faster so that people can pay for their shopping, shall we do it together?" Let the kid have a go *and* teach them respect for others' time.
NTA good training skills mum....I did the same with all my children and grandchildren when I have them
Definitely NTA. There were TEN checkouts and they were using ONE. No store is that busy on a normal sunday that it would be a problem. The other customer just wanted to be a jerk.
I think the fact that there were ten checkouts and all were constantly in use and there was still a queue shows how busy it was. A perfect time to do this would be when the other some of the checkouts were empty then it wouldn’t matter if she had spent all day at her one.
Load More Replies... There's always a good chance that you will have to wait on line at a grocery store and that whatever line that you are in will have some sort of delay, it's not that big of deal and it is the cost of doing business in the world. It also sounds like there were other registers open and that the individual who was teaching her son wasn't using all of them.
The snarky comment to the first YTA makes it pretty clear that they didn't come here to get opinions but to be praised for their hans on parenting style... Yes, train your child, but have a little more awareness of your surroundings and do it on a slow day and /or with fewer items...
As others have said, it depends how busy it was and we have to bear in mind my idea of an acceptable wait time could be different from the next person. I've done this with my kid but again, not when it's busy, so it's hard to say if OP is the AH or not. However, if anyone used profanity at me in front of my kid, Mamma Bear would definitely rear her ugly head.
I am in a wheelchair so it takes me longer to self check out then most others. Should I be yelled at due to my slowness?
All these morons who called this person the A-hole need to go jump off a pier into freezing cold water. As I read it, there are MANY machines. So what if one takes too long the others open up when done. If someone complained to me about it I would for sure, have the purchase re scanned to make sure nothing was missed the first time. Screw these idiots who think their time is more important than a mom or dad doing a teaching moment with their kid.
I go to the grocery store with the mindset of 'I have time for this' and let the time be what it is. Children take time, whether for tantrums or learning, or they wander off and must be herded back to the cart. For 10-20 items, it's fine for the self-checkout. More items need to be considered if time allows, if not, do it another time. The other grown-ups need to show their 'adultness' too.
Especially if there is a line, people would like it to move as efficiently as possible, and there is nothing to do but watch the other people checking out, lol. It wasn't critical that a seven-year-old learn how to self-checkout at that very moment. It was more of a toy for him at that point - obviously he won't be buying groceries on his own for a long time. Do it when there's no line (or let him scan one item....). But the lady was rude in her response and choice of words, no question.
I was behind an older gentleman in the self checkout and he was taking a really long time (I'm pretty sure it was because of his arthritis), but I had no where to be so it didn't matter to me. But the "Oh So Important B*tch" behind me kept sighing, loudly. I turned around and said, "God, I certainly hope YOU never get to live this long". The old man laughed and said "Good one!", while she stood there looking like the complete a$$hole she is. Someone had to teach you how to use a spoon, you entitled little c*nt.
There is always going to be a line at checkout, whether self or assisted. It's a fact of life. The people in a hurry are the same ones who'll have a cart full of groceries & won't let the person with a baguette & a gallon of milk go first.
I just in general think self checkouts are for people who are quick. I don’t say anything for people being slow but you can see people are getting annoyed. In some supermarkets where I live you can scan and pay on your phone. Then it gives you a bar code and with that you can exit. That’s ideal. No lane and no wait.
Learning by doing is a great way to teach kids, however, OP was not just teaching their kid how to use a self checkout, but also teaching them to be rude and inconsiderate to others. Do it when it's slow, even if that means going when it's inconvenient to you. Not defending the other rude person, btw, but OP was definitely the original AH here.
Totally TA. The world doesn't revolve around your child. I applaud encouraging him but not when there's a line of others with equally important lives and time. Another lesson to teach is being cognizant of others, which was missed here. That said, the other lady was also TA, especially cursing in front of the kid.
All the people having ago probably don't have children! Children have to learn and the adults should be more understanding of that. If someone had ago at my child and me I'd clap back awwww thank you for waiting in a cheerful way to make them feel s**t about themselves. Ok getting downvoted! Right think of it this way if it was an old person or disabled person would you all still be alright with the person being a tw#t because they were going as slow as a child would? REALLY PEOPLE NEED TO THINK MORE OUT SIDE THE BOX. If the person is a d#ck with a child going slowly they would be a d#ck with anyone! F#CK what time of day it was. Wow again with the downvotes. The fact its a child has nowt to do with it. It's the fact the person is going slow. So old people, disabled people an any other slow person would have got the same reaction from the person. I say tuff cr#p they should learn patience is a virtue and wait RIGHT DOWNVOTES ARE FOR SPAM AND PEOPLE BEING RACIST AND SEXIST NOT BECAUSE YOU DISAGREE!
I think you need to relax a little. You sound like one of "those" parents that scream defensively at the very mention (gasp) that the world should not have to revolve around their kids. There was a logical way to handle this, have the child do a few and then finish the rest. ...also, people are still mean to you if you're old or disabled. God forbid you make them wait for anything.
Load More Replies... Aww, look at you...someone else's very own crotch fruit, all grown up, spouting nasty s**t about innocent kids. Classy.
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