I was at a local grocery store when I saw this less than stellar example of parenting skills.
This woman was standing right in front of the cart return, yakking away on her cellphone. She had her eight-ish year old daughter with her, one hand clamped on her phone, the other holding her daughter by the arm. The girl was standing politely off to one side, well, as far as she could get to the side with her mother holding onto her like that.
Her daughter saw me coming with a cart, and gently tugged on her mother's arm, to steer her aside, so I could get at the cart return. Her mother wasn't having any of it. I tried to steer the cart around the woman, but she had this uncanny ability, despite having her back to me and being (apparently) unaware of my presence, to step into my path no matter which side I went to. Her daughter again tried to steer her mother out of my way. No go.
Finally, the woman gets off the phone, turns around, and apparently me standing there just about scared the crap out of her, judging by the way she jumped back.
The woman immediately turned to her daughter, and gave the poor girl a long, loud lecture on staying out of people's way, how blocking people's path was rude, intolerable, and if she did it again, she'd get a spanking.
This woman was standing right in front of the cart return, yakking away on her cellphone. She had her eight-ish year old daughter with her, one hand clamped on her phone, the other holding her daughter by the arm. The girl was standing politely off to one side, well, as far as she could get to the side with her mother holding onto her like that.
Her daughter saw me coming with a cart, and gently tugged on her mother's arm, to steer her aside, so I could get at the cart return. Her mother wasn't having any of it. I tried to steer the cart around the woman, but she had this uncanny ability, despite having her back to me and being (apparently) unaware of my presence, to step into my path no matter which side I went to. Her daughter again tried to steer her mother out of my way. No go.
Finally, the woman gets off the phone, turns around, and apparently me standing there just about scared the crap out of her, judging by the way she jumped back.
The woman immediately turned to her daughter, and gave the poor girl a long, loud lecture on staying out of people's way, how blocking people's path was rude, intolerable, and if she did it again, she'd get a spanking.

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