I had a customer whose son was acting in a reckless manner and abusive toward other customers. The mother was just standing there. I told him to stop. The mother went off on me, I said 'He is bothering a little girl" and she stormed off and got a manager.
I explained, in front of the mother, son, manager, co worker, the little girl he was bothering, her sister, and the girls' grandmother. The other family and my coworker backed me up. After the mother left, my boss said "You fine Heather, we don't got time for this sh*t" and walked off.
The mother was apparently very upset I had corrected her son. Well, guess what, if you don't correct your kid someone else will, and if you do a really bad job of it it's going to be the other inmates and the correctional officers. Especially if you are twice the age of the little girl you are harassing.
But I do get that sometimes. We,as employees, are required to tell kids to "stop doing that" if we see they are going to hurt themselves or are harassing other customers. Corporate wants Walmart to the The Happiest Place on Earth not somewhere you get hassled or your little girl terrorized by a big boy. So I was in the right.
But then she tried to get me in trouble rather than face her own lack as a parent. And she she came from a culture that is seen as "good with kids" and "good parents". There's just a huge disconnect.
I hear stories from Boomers, growing up, if a neighbor caught them acting up the neighbor would discipline them (spanking, switching, etc.) so they learned to behave. Worst was if the neighbor disciplined them and then told their parents that was considered very shameful and cause for a secondary, major, whipping when the parents found out.
That doesn't happen. I had one mother say 'If my child is acting up you tell me and I tell him, you don't correct him ever". What happens when he goes to school?
Is this "Gentle parenting?"
AGH.
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