Woman Scolds Child For Touching Her Things In A Restaurant And Gets Confronted By His Angry Mother

The woman had been enjoying her time with her family until a particularly obnoxious child ruined it.

Stephanie

• Published in Interesting
• February 15, 2022

Parents often receive criticism on their parenting from outsiders. And sometimes, those outsiders are complete strangers.

This sort of unwanted advice can be frustrating and, at times, insulting for parents. But what if it's entirely warranted?

One Reddit user, u/BingandBong123, recently posted in the AITA (Am I The A**Hole?) subreddit about an experience she had in a restaurant. The woman had been enjoying her time with her family until a particularly obnoxious child ruined it.

The little boy was running around the restaurant, screaming and doing cartwheels. Eventually, he ran up to the Redditor's table, picked up her hat, and proceeded to put it on.

At that point, our OP had understandably had just about enough. The boy's mother was not disciplining him, so u/BingandBong123 took matters into her own hands.

"The mother was occasionally looking up to watch her child but didn't react at all to him running around and shouting," the Redditor said. "The staff tried to politely shush him/ask him to stop running a couple of times, but he would stop just for 30 seconds and then start back up again."

Our OP stopped the boy and told him to give the hat back immediately. She also told him it was very rude to touch other people's things without asking.

"He clearly knew he was doing something naughty as he looked embarrassed/ashamed when I scolded him," the OP said. "But he knew his mom would come and bail him out."

Seems reasonable, right? Well, not according to the child's mother, who was unimpressed by our OP's interference.

The Redditor was subsequently scolded by the little boy's mother, who told her to mind her own business in no uncertain terms. So, was our OP in the wrong here?

The woman had been enjoying her time with her family until a particularly obnoxious child ruined it.

The Redditor explained that it was a family restaurant, so quite a few children were around.

One little boy was running around the restaurant, screaming and doing cartwheels.

Eventually, he ran up to the Redditor's table, picked up her hat, and proceeded to put it on.

The OP stopped the boy and told him to give the hat back immediately.

She also told him it was very rude to touch other people's things without asking.

That's when the boy's mother noticed what was going on and told the Redditor to mind her own business in no uncertain terms.

So, is she the a**hole here?

Here's how people reacted.

Where do these people get off?

"It was particularly frustrating."

It's obvious where the child got his lack of manners!

"He's gonna have to learn that there are consequences."

"NTA!"

"Woman is delusional."

There should always be boundaries.

Own up!

"That kid is crazy."

"My kid wouldn't be acting like that."

"Mom needs to learn to teach her kids to behave."

Keep an eye on your kid, lady!

What's your take on this situation? Should our OP have left disciplining the child up to his mother, or was she well within her rights to say something?

Of course, reprimanding a child should foremost be a parent's job. But if the parents aren't doing it, and the child is disrupting us, shouldn't we be allowed to say something?

Have you ever disciplined a stranger's child or perhaps been on the receiving end as a parent? We would love to hear your stories in the comment section.

Stephanie