Everyone is talking about Nordstrom Rack, and not because of their prices (and amazing boot selection). Nope, the topic at hand is an altercation that took place in the parking lot of a Nordstrom Rack in Colma, California on Thursday, that arose from a disagreement between two shoppers over how to handle a screaming child.
In case you haven’t heard, here’s how it went down:
Natalie Bree Hajek-Richardson was in the checkout line when a nearby child started throwing a tantrum. She told ABC News that she politely asked the kid’s mother to attend to the situation. “She came to the side of me and told me not to tell her child what to do, and I told her that I didn’t tell your child what to do, I asked you very nicely to calm down your child,” said Hajek-Richardson.
The situation quickly escalated – “I told her to go to hell, and she told me I’ll see you there” — before culminating in the parking lot, where the mother punched Hajek-Richardson in the face twice.
Obviously this is an extreme situation and there’s no question that lines were crossed in every sense of the word. But it got us thinking, where are the boundaries for giving “feedback” to other parents?
Here’s what from some moms around the office:
There was a time when it was acceptable for another adult to step in, but that time passed.
“I don’t think our society really allows for the aunt/uncle/grandparent/friend or other person to weigh in. It used to be that any authority figure could step in, and that would be treated with respect and understood. But culturally we’ve shifted away from that.”
We’re setting our kids up to misbehave in public by packing too much into our days.
“We’re always on the go. I wonder if parents are trying to do so much, so quickly nowadays that they are putting kids in a bad spot where they aren’t going to be as well-behaved.”
That mom should have done more to correct her child’s behavior.
“I would leave. If my child were throwing a tantrum in the middle of the store, I would pack it up and get it out of there right away.”
The bystander shouldn’t have gotten involved.
“Confronting another mom isn’t really going to fix anything, though.”
“I personally would never go up to another parent and ask them to correct their child’s behavior.”
“I might think in my head ‘why aren’t you disciplining your child,’ but I would never actually say it.”
And last but not least…
“All I can think right now, is thank God my kid is older and I don’t have to deal with this kind of thing anymore.”
What do you think? Would you ever say something to another parent if you saw a child misbehaving?