Mom of four says a Costco stranger complained about her kids disturbing the peace, so she asked one calm question and the woman walked away
‘Have a good day.’
A mom of four says a short exchange with an older shopper at Costco ended with her kids wishing the woman a good day. According to Upworthy Amplify, she described the encounter in an Instagram reel, where she says she was shopping with her four children, aged two to six.
As she passed, the older woman told her, “Gosh, you’re brave.” The mom says she first took it as a compliment, but the woman made clear she meant the opposite. The woman told her the children were disturbing the peace and added that she and her husband go to Costco in the morning because they like it quiet.
The mom answered that her children were doing their best and that “they’re kids.” She then asked, “How are my children supposed to learn how to exist in the world if they never go into it?” She says her job is to help them grow into good people, not to raise children who are convenient for every adult.
The kids wished her a good day
The woman scoffed and walked off, grumbling about younger parents. The mom then turned and told her to have a good day, and each of her four children repeated it. Calm replies to strangers have gone viral before, including a mom’s calm answer to unsolicited parenting advice at a clinic.
She says she will keep taking her kids out in public, because she wants them to learn how to act around other people, even when outings get messy. She was especially glad that they answered kindly instead of rudely. All details are based on her Instagram reel.
Her youngest is two, an age when self-control is still forming. According to Sanford Health, “Toddlers feel strong emotions just like adults.” The page defines self-control as “the ability to control and manage our emotions, impulses and behaviors, especially in difficult situations.” It adds that “Children younger than age 3 have limited self-control.” It also states that the brain’s emotional-control area “is not well developed until age 3 or 4.”
Texas Health states that very young children may shriek for attention or because they like to hear themselves. It advises parents to make sure the child is not injured or in pain, then “try not to give the outburst any attention.” For public places, the page says a parent may have to move the child to a quieter setting, a familiar scene at Costco, where a baby who ripped a receipt once held up a mom at the exit.
The self-control page also suggests games such as “freeze dance” or “red light, green light” to practice self-control. It says to “Present your child with two acceptable options and let him or her choose,” and to “Make the wait time short, and give your child something to do in the meantime.”
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