crying babies/kids-whats your worst(loudest) story?

[SwanJun]

I have three in the worst kid/parent category:

#1
The Ob's office.
All we heavy/bloated/ready to explode mum's to be were waiting in the ... waiting room and a woman (not pregnant) walked in with her mum and four year-old daughter.
This child did not cease screaming blue-bloody-murder for at least 30 minutes. It wasn't one of those tantrum screams or anything like that. This kid was just walking up to each of us and would literally scream in our faces and then tear around the waiting room screaming like banshee....
The mother and her mother just sat on their chairs and chatted away, totally ignoring this kid.
Terrifying experience for an expectant mum ... Not only would the sheer fright almost make you pop, but you're just about to actually pop out one of these little monsters...


#2
Dominion Supermarket
I was wandering around with my little guy and there was another toddler screaming blue murder with that blood-curdling scream not even Jamie Lee Curtis can pull off.
He was across the store from where I was, and I could have sworn the little devil was right next to me.
It was mortifying.

#3 - The worst
Walmart
I swear this lady and her two brats were following me around the store.
It started in the baby-section. First off, the little shits rammed my trolley with theirs (my poor little guy got a boo on his head from it).
No apology from the mother, no excuse or chiding of her children.
Then the shoe section. These little devil spawns were screaming and running through all the shoe shelves pushing merchandise off the shelves.
Still the mother did nothing but attempt to ignore them.
Then the toy section, where the bastard children were tearing the packaging to get to the toys.
By this stage, my little guy - who isn't timid by any stretch of the imagination - started whimpering and reaching up his arms to me for comfort. He was literally frightened of these two kids.
So I cashed out and took my guy to McDonalds to pick up something for hubby who was across the road trying to get the car fixed.
They were there, too....
By this stage customers and staff had just had about enough.
The girl, probably around 7, just kept screaming. You know those short bursts, but really high frequency?
The McDonalds' Manager then approached the girl to ask her to please keep it down as she was annoying the other guests.
She did that arrogant slouch at him and then smirked and gave the loudest scream I have ever heard in my life.
My little guy promtly lost it and started crying, as did two infants in line with their parents.
So now the mother actually gets off her ass and does something ....... yell at the Manager for daring to reprimand her child.
The Manager coughed and told her if the child doesn't stop, they have to leave.
So she drags the girl back to the table and shoves a cheeseburger at her. The girl throws it back and marches to the ketchup dispenser to begin her screaming again as she filled up several of those little white things with ketchup.
Again, the mother just sat there eating her food and ignoring her.
So I get hubby a burger and wander across to the mechanic just shaking my head in bewilderment.
And hubby jogs across about 30 mins later to get something for the vroom-vroom.
When he returns he is shaking his head at this pair of kids who were running riot in Walmart with their mother doing nothing about it.
I give him a description of the two that haunted me and he said "yeah, that's them."

Un-freaking-believable....

SJ

[Misanthropical]

Barefootgirl, my husband didn't spank our son, my husband just picked him up and took him to the car.

The people who called the police thought my husband would beat the child when they were out of sight of everyone, which has never happened.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

The Man Who Wasn't There

This didn't involve screaming kids, but it was amazingly annoying all the same. No judge would have convicted me, but I took the high road.

I was working the Customer Service desk at my last job and it was a beautiful rainy day. So, of course, my mood was already puppies and rainbows.
Then this lovely gentleman and his test-tube-kids-gone-wrong come in.
They come to Customer Service and, while they wait in line, the kids discover that their wet sneakers make this lovely high-pitched squeaking noise when dragged across the floor.
They proceed to do this the entire time. The entire time.
Test Tube Daddy just stands there completely oblivious to the fact that his kids desperately needed to eat death.
I get the fact that if you have kids, you sometimes have to overlook certain behavior to preserve your sanity, but this was nerve-shattering.
How can you just stand there and let your kids (for upwards of 5 minutes) just drag their shoes making these horrific noises?

[Luckymom]

I used to work next to the toy section in Wal-Mart. That was always fun.

I've been the mother with the screaming baby in a restaurant before. My hubby had gone to the bathroom and Colin was screaming bloody murder. He had a clean diaper and had just been fed, he just didn't want to sit in the restuarant. So I asked my waiter to pack our stuff up to go and told him I was going to pace around outside with Colin and could he please let my hubby know if he saw him. So I take screaming baby outside. Waiter doesn't tell my hubby where I went just puts togo boxes and a check in front of him. Oh well wasn't the waiters responsibility. So hubby comes out and asks whats wrong. DUH! baby screaming in my ear. We went home and ate there when Colin decided to play and have a good time as soon as he got in the house.

[technical.angel]

I'm surprised none of my fellow ex-Claires employees have posted yet.

You think you all had it bad?

I shoved pieces of metal though these kids ears!!!

I've had some fun ones. Like my second piercing ever, and my first baby piercing ever. The little one (a year old), started screaming when we just wiped off her ears. An hour of screaming later, we got everything lined up and was ready to pierce. That's when the dad said to stop. I almost cried. But, a year later, I did the piercing. Go me.

Babies were, actually, the easiest to do. One person held the baby, then after the piercing, baby was transferred off to someone else and taken outside and distracted. No more screaming baby. The cut off was pretty much 6 years old. After that, you get into the "I want my ears pierced!! NO! I DON'T WANT MY EARS PIERCED!!! I want my ears pierced! NO! I DON'T WANT MY EARS PIERCED!" on and on for two to three hours.

The joy of this is fate would have you alone in the store at that time. So, you couldn't help anyone else. And then, people who'd wander over at the No stage would give me and the parents dirty looks. Before my time, someone complained to the mall's customer service because we were piercing a child's ears who "didn't want it done".

Hum... thinking about that, I don't miss that time anymore.

Jenni

[Jester]

My stepsister said she used to think spanking was cruel.
Til her son got old enough to need it.
Now when people tell her there are "better ways", if they have a kid. she says "Yea, see if you feel that way in a couple of years."

Precisely. My best friend always said she would never spank her child. She continued this mantra all through her first pregnancy. This attitude changed once H (my niece) got to be old enough to know when not to do something, but did it anyway. You know....about 1.

Best way to get a kid's attention without doing any damage is a good swift swat to the butt. Hell, why do you think that extra cushioning is down there anyway?

[LdyJedi]

It was my own child. *hangs head in shame* She was just a baby, still in a highchair, when she started screaming bloody murder at a steakhouse during dinner. DH picked her up, carried her outside and I took care of the bill. I hated, hated, HATED that she'd screamed at all.. I was horribly embarassed.

I got outside to the car and she was all grins, giggles and coos.

"I got her into the carseat and she gave a belch that a trucker would be proud of," DH said.

Gah. And I didn't even finish my wine.

[ArenaBoy]

I actually had to take my little sister out of the store once. (9 year age difference) What happened was she wanted to get a magazine, it was $5 and I told her that she couldn't get it. She was 8 years old at the time and she sees her older brother as a friend and not someone who is in charge. She proceeds to throw a fit and I simply picked her up and took her to my car. Right then and there I went home told my parents the story and she caught holy hell.
My dad is someone I don't dare disrespect, he was never in the military but his patience is thin. When he yells, the entire room will go silent and there is this vibe that makes no one dare say a word. One yell is all it takes, a simple "HEY!!!" has actually put my sister into tears when she's done something wrong. My own friends are scared of my dad but he's an easygoing guy, just easily pissed off.

I remembered a loud crying kid at a Gamestop a few years ago. I was picking up a game for myself and as I am walking to the register I see this kid who is begging his mom for Metal Gear Solid. This kid looked to be 9 or 10 years old and he asks his mom if he can get it. The mom actually studies the box, notices the content and says no. This kid threw a tantrum so loud I thought he almost blew out my eardrums. The kid stopped a few seconds after that, out of breath and the game I was buying needed my ID. I being the mean jerk that I am, whip out my ID with a big shit-eating grin in direct view of the kid and the clerk is actually giggling when he notices what I'm doing. The kid actually started to throw another tantrum as soon as he saw me grinning. What was the game I bought? Metal Gear Solid. It wasn't one of my proudest moments but that kid could've blown out some glass if he tried.

[DesignFox]

I wonder how the attitude changed, i bet everyone over 20 has been spanked.
Maybe they are so traumatized by it that they dont want others to be spanked.

I'm over 20. and my parents spanked me when I was bad. I'm not traumatized by it...I can only even remember a handful of times when I was spanked. I think I turned out fine. And I was rarely a little S*** head as a kid- the first time I got spanked in public, I got the hint and never pulled that crap again. I think a lack of discipline is a HUGE problem anymore.

Honestly, those who don't spank their kids, if whatever they do works...then that's great! Every child is different, and different types of re-enforcement work for different kinds of kids. The problem lies with parents who do nothing.

Sure, I'll admit I feel a bit embarrassed when I see a parent having to discipline their child... but I congratulate them on having done so, rather than berate them and threaten to call the cops. I would much rather have the screaming nuisance silenced or punished for being a brat, than see the kid get continually worse and the weary parent just cave in. I see it all the time at the mall.

"but I waaaant it!" "no, you can't have it today" "But I want it NOW!" (rinse, repeat) until said spoiled little s*** gets whatever it wants.

I overheard a mother arguing with her child at a store: "You get whatever you want, it makes me sick!"

[AFpheonix]

It was my own child. *hangs head in shame* She was just a baby, still in a highchair, when she started screaming bloody murder at a steakhouse during dinner. DH picked her up, carried her outside and I took care of the bill. I hated, hated, HATED that she'd screamed at all.. I was horribly embarassed.

It's one thing if it's a little baby, they're crying because they've got something they need to get taken care of, and this is the most effective way of getting someone to do it. When they're getting into toddlerhood (and a lot of the time, even this age is forgivable) and beyond, and they're doing it out of naughtiness, then that's something else altogether.

I got schwacked occasionally as a child. I was smart enough to figure out if mom got the Churchlady look on her face, then I'd better stop pushing whatever button of hers I was pushing, or else I was in for it. Nothing like a little negative reinforcement....of course, I got plenty of positive reinforcement too when I was good. I turned out mostly all right, I suppose.

[Kika]

Yesterday, my 4-year-old daughter and I went to my work (which sells lotion, etc.) to pick up my check. Before we left, we had the "you're not going to get something unless you pay for it yourself" talk.

We get there, and head for the American Girl section (body products "related" to those hideously expensive dolls), and Anna asks me if she could please have grape flavored. We can't find it, so I ask a co-worker if we have more in the back. She goes off to look.

This whole time some girl who has to be 9 years old is having a temper tantrum because her mom won't let her buy something. The kid is pointing at Anna and screaming that "HER mom buys her stuff!" cry, cry, whine, whine. Starts grabbing at random stuff on the shelves.

Anna looks at the girl and looks at me, and asks me why the girl hasn't had her hand slapped yet and doesn't her mommy know that it's her job to remind the girl that kids need to behave in a store?

The mother gave me a classic deer in the headlights look. That's right, lady, my four year old knows more about parenting than you do.

That totally made up for all the times we had to leave somewhere because Anna was not behaving herself.

[chainedbarista]

pwned by a four year old; that woman must feel about two inches tall at this time!

[LdyJedi]

I got schwacked occasionally as a child. I was smart enough to figure out if mom got the Churchlady look on her face, then I'd better stop pushing whatever button of hers I was pushing, or else I was in for it. Nothing like a little negative reinforcement....of course, I got plenty of positive reinforcement too when I was good. I turned out mostly all right, I suppose.

We're very fortunate. I've never had to leave a place since then. Before that, either, which is why I was so flustered by it. She turned out to be a well behaved kid that I think is pretty cool (a 13 year old lover of fine foods, actually). I have far more patience with an infant crying than I do with a child throwing a temper tantrum 'just cause they can.' Those mothers get that icy glare o'doom

[NightAngel]

I guess I could probably pick from a handbasket full of stories but I think this one was the worst for me:

I was ringing out a customer when the customer's hubby (who had just been sort of not paying attention and just staring blankly around) suddenly says, "There is, what seems to be, a crying child behind that display."

I watched as I finished the transaction to see if a parent would come up but they didn't. When I was done I went over to the display and put out my hand and said, "Whatcha doin' back there? Let's go find your Mommy and Daddy."

The girl snatched my hand and hung on to it like it was the last Twinkie in a famine. She was absolutely mortified. I figured the kid's parents were probably right around and she just couldn't see them for all the high shelves.

We walked back through the store calling for Mommy and Daddy- the farther back in the store we got the more she and I both realized that they weren't here. Which in turn meant she had to cry harder and harder- not that I blame her certainly.

By the time we got back up to the counter she was crying so hard she wasn't making any noise at all. I couldn't even convince her to pick any candy she wanted off the candy rack.

I was sitting on the floor talking to her, trying to calm her down, get her name, etc. When a family (husband, wife, two other kids) burst through the door in a frantic panic yelling the kids name. They all looked like someone had punched them in the stomach they we so worried and freaked out- not that I blame them certainly.

Turned out the husband had taken the other two kids with him to the grocery store before she was done at the check out. She had assumed that the third kid was with him as well. He thought she knew the littlest had stayed with her. At some point during this I'm guessing the girl had gone over to the display she was hiding behind and then hid behind it when she realized her Mom had disappeared (gone to the car).

I'll listen to whining, screaming annoying kids every day as long as I don't have to see some poor child crying out of the fear of being lost, etc. again. It's gut wrenching really...

[RecoveringKinkoid]

That is so sad. The poor little thing. This is one reason I think nothing is wrong with putting a baby that small on a leash.

My husband and I actively pass our baby off to each other literally like a tag team. We usually have a clear understanding of who "has" the baby, even if we are both present. Even at home, I will say "I'm going to the laundry, watch her." or something like that. I have heard of too many instances where a baby was snatched, lost, or in some cases drowned or otherwise killed because each parent thought the other was watching.