Mom blasts stranger who told her to get off her phone while shopping with kids

Being a parent is no easy feat, especially when you're dealing with toddlers. For whatever reason, they'll have a complete and utter breakdown over even the smallest things. And while it may seem cruel to some onlookers, ignoring them is often the best route to peace and quiet.

This is something that the moms of the popular Facebook page Breastfeeding Mama Talk know all too well. But one mom took to the Facebook page after she was seemingly shamed by a stranger for using her phone while out shopping with her two toddlers at Costco.

The post starts: 

"To the man at Costco today who glanced over at me on my phone while my babies were fussing and felt the need to say, 'You see these babies? They fuss like that because they want your attention. Maybe you should get off of your phone and give them your attention.'” 

The mother blasts the stranger for getting involved: 

"First of all, I had no idea the toddler saying, 'Mama, pizza, mama, pizza' over and over and the baby making pre-cry warnings to alert me that if we don’t move soon he’s gong to lose it wanted my attention. Thank you for that brilliant analysis of the situation."

"Secondly, I had been in the Membership line for 15 minutes already. I pulled out books, snacks, patty cake, and even took to creepily pointing out items in buggies as customers left the store to entertain them."

"Thirdly, you had been in the Refunds line next to me for a total of two minutes or else you would have seen the smiles and laughs and interaction."

"Lastly, after 15 minutes, these babies got a bit fussy. And on the meltdown scale, they were barely even at a one. Sensing the meltdown brewing, I took out my phone, downloaded the Costco app and texted my husband to ask what our log in is in an attempt to just get my membership card on my phone." 

"Because I ran out of tricks and my kids ran out of patience and now my goal was to just get us out of this line as quickly as possible before they released the kraken."

"But thank you for your parenting advice. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to shame a young mother with two tiny children. Thank you for seeing a stressful moment and deciding, 'I think I’ll make this worse for her.'"

She then went on to give a few tips to people who might want to do something similar. 

"Everyone, if you see a mother (or father) with young children out in public ANYWHERE, assume she is stressed out. Assume she is trying her damndest to get through the situation. Assume this is the very last place she wants to be. Assume she’d rather be home cuddling, playing, running around with her babies."  

"Assume she probably has had no sleep since her first child was born. Assume she is hungry because her toddler decided he wanted extra eggs this morning so she gave him her breakfast in addition to his own. And if you have nothing kind or supportive to offer her, please mind your own business."

"Our babies are healthy, our babies are happy (despite the fact that they are not currently pleased with standing in line at Costco), and our babies are loved fiercely by us. And for the love of God, our babies can wait 2 minutes while we try to solve a problem on your phone." 

Commenters supported the mom, with one user writing: 

"I totally understand this, and I've been there too. I have gotten super upset with some parents on their phones though too, if I'm being honest. Play places are the worst. Parents sit on their phones the entire time, not interacting with their toddler." 

Another added: 

"When my son has had meltdowns at Walmart, I have had older people start talking to him because they know that usually works to calm them down because they get embarrassed or shy. Very helpful for me and I’m pretty thankful for those people."

While one user concluded: "I had a similar thing happen to me in the grocery store. That woman hopefully learned a lesson that day. You keep your mouth shut and mind your own business. I take my kids everywhere because this is how they learn."

This article was originally published on October 16, 2019. It has since been updated.