What am I supposed to say to that?

[solidmetalgear19]

I don't know if this should go here or in general work chat

One day I'm wokring and I go around to check that all the movies that are playing are playing properly.

As I walk into one theatre there is this mother and her son (few years younger than me) who are walking ahead of me at a slow pace. While they are holding me up, I can hear the mother talk to her son regarding the subject (which I assume is directed at him) of how she failed as a parent and how he's (supposedly) a horrible child, and a dissapointment blah, blah, blah.

Then she turns around, addresses me and asks.

"How would you feel if you failed as a parent"



How the hell do I respond to something like that.

All I was able to get out was a "I got nothing" with a shrug of my shoulders.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

How the hell do I respond to something like that.

By calling CPS?

But at least she's right...she does indeed fail as a parent.

[Kyree]

"The only time that you fail as a parent is when you stop caring. If you don't care for your child, maybe it's time to bring in CPS and find him a better home?"

Was the kid doing anything horrible? How old was he?

[BaristaTrav]

I see.... years of therapy in this poor kid's future. Why do insane parents never stop to spare their children from their insanity?

[Apathy]

Why is she explaining this as she's walking into a movie? That's some extra fail right there.
How would I feel? If this kid was young enough, maybe I'd try and lead him down the right path instead of telling him we both suck. I mean, I know kids like hearing that they're disappointments, but come on, you could maybe start trying. It sounds like she's bailing out with the "I suck and it's too late" BS. It's rarely too late to pick up the pieces and do something about it more than just whining.

[PCGameGuy]

I don't know if this should go here or in general work chat

One day I'm wokring and I go around to check that all the movies that are playing are playing properly.

As I walk into one theatre there is this mother and her son (few years younger than me) who are walking ahead of me at a slow pace. While they are holding me up, I can hear the mother talk to her son regarding the subject (which I assume is directed at him) of how she failed as a parent and how he's (supposedly) a horrible child, and a dissapointment blah, blah, blah.

Then she turns around, addresses me and asks.

"How would you feel if you failed as a parent"



How the hell do I respond to something like that.

All I was able to get out was a "I got nothing" with a shrug of my shoulders.

..coulda...woulda...shoulda...

'I'd probably turn around and convince a complete stranger in a movie theater to call CPS while I was watching a film, so they could take my child as I came out.'

[Anthony K. S.]

I can hear the mother talk to her son regarding the subject (which I assume is directed at him) of how she failed as a parent and how he's (supposedly) a horrible child, and a dissapointment blah, blah, blah.

It sounds like the subject matter was bad enough . . . but saying that stuff in public?

Reminds me of something that happened in my bookstore once. I was straightening some shelves when I saw this woman talking to her son. (He looked like a teenager.) She wasn't raising her voice or anything like that, but she was clearly lecturing him about something that he had (supposedly) done wrong.

What she was saying to him wasn't abusive (like the woman in the OP was), but in my opinion, it definitely seemed like something that should have been said in the privacy of their home, not in a public place.

I honestly didn't know what to do. It was a family matter, after all. But I noticed that the other customers seemed to be deliberately avoiding the aisle where this woman was (with good reason), which gave me a reason to alert our manager.

The manager spoke to this woman (presumably to let her know that she was making our other customers uncomfortable), and she and her son left the store. Later on, our manager said that she felt really sorry for the son.

"Of all places to do that!" she said.

Then she turns around, addresses me and asks.

"How would you feel if you failed as a parent"

. . . I don't think I have the vocabulary to convey how wrong this is.

Look, lady, if you insist on being a lousy parent . . . Well, I suppose there's really nothing I can do to stop you (apart from calling CPS if it gets really bad) . . . But don't expect me to help you do it.

I think you did pretty well here just by shrugging your shoulders, solidmetalgear19. I don't know if I would have had the presence of mind to even do that much.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

By saying something she really doesn't want you to say.

"How is it your son's fault that you fail as a parent? Why are you yelling at him, YOU'RE the one acting like a brat in public, not him. And more importantly, why are you sucking me into your disfuntion and mental abuse? I'm not going to stand here and help you abuse that poor little boy. Go find a therapist. And don't say another frigging word to me, you ought to be ashamed of yourself."

[RetailWorkhorse]

"How would you feel if you failed as a parent"

"Validated."


I'm not having kids. I'd totally cock 'em up. Safer if I didn't have kids.

[clowninasack]

Run like hell.

[MystyGlyttyr]

"How would you feel if you failed as a parent"

"Like....your mother?"

[AdminAssistant]

I had a similar (though not as sucky) thing happen one day when I was working the fitting room. Mother goes into the room with a young child, girl, 3 or 4. I hear crying from the child and yelling from the mother. Mother drags child out to our 3 fold mirror. Girl is wearing some cheap (clearance for $3) cloth shorts. I think they were purple with little flowers.

Sucky Mother: They don't fit!!
Girl: B-b-b-but they're p-p-pretty....
Sucky Mother: You'll get too fat for them! I'm not paying this much for shorts you'll only wear for a few months!!

This cycle of crying and ranting continues for a few minutes then....

SM: Miss!! You there!
Me: *sigh* Can I help you?
SM: Would you tell her those shorts are too little?!?!!!
I look at this quivering little girl that the mother is pushing out towards me. The shorts..well, they are on the snug side, but they fit. Girl will grow out of them soon...but they're THREE FREAKING DOLLARS. Perfectly acceptable play clothes, and they were pretty cute. However, this woman looked like she was ready to spew brimstone and fire over these shorts...so I just kind of shrugged in a "I dunno" kind of way, and went back to my duty. I wish I would've said to the girl, "I think they look FINE." But I didn't want to risk the ire of the SC. Poor kid. Never did find out if she got the shorts.

[katie kaboom]

Poor kid, she is gonna be messed up when she's older with a mother like that. I bet this poor girl will have body image problems later in life.