If you aren't going to help, then get out of the way. By Mrs. C

Why can't some parents just keep their thoughts to themselves? Why must people interject unsolicited parenting advice, especially at the wrong time? I went to Target with the kids, which turned out to be a trip from the great H-E-double hockey sticks! The kids were in good spirits, which was great, but then as soon as we got inside the store, it was like Evan, my almost 2yr old, had been abducted and replaced by a defected model. He started to throw a temper tantrum right in the front of the store. And it was over nothing in particular. He just randomly started screaming and kicking his feet.
I quickly took the kids to the side of the store in a corner where I could assess the situation and whether we were even staying. Well, Evan was not going to work with me, so I decided, we were going to abandon the shopping trip and leave, to which he was equally unhappy with. He screamed as I carried him out of the store, with Jadyn quietly in tow. As I'm walking out the store, a lady is running behind me, yelling "excuse me!" I turn around to see who is calling out, thinking maybe I left something in the cart. No, even better. I left her with a nagging need to punish me further than having a child breakdown in public--I left her with the need to tell me how I wasn't handling the situation right. "You need to hold him and rock him. It's horrible mothers like you who shouldn't be allowed to have children!" Okay, if there is someone out there who knows exactly what to do in every situation, I want that person to be my personal nanny. I will slave for that person. But since such person doesn't exist, I will do what I think is the best thing for MY kids. I didn't beat my son on the wall, which was definitely a thought. I didn't duct tape his mouth shut to offer fellow shoppers silence (or to preserve my sanity). I didn't even call him names or scold him harshly. I took the kids to the side to try and figure out exactly why he was crying. He was not hurt; he had not fallen. He just instantly exploded into loud wales. Is what I did so bad that I don't deserve to have kids? No. But obviously this lady believed so. I told the lady, "Mind your own business," and I kept walking. She continued to verbally bash my abilities, which was a lame attempt. She, herself, had no kids with her. So am I to assume that she can't handle her own kids in public? Possibly. Especially considering she jumped in claiming I needed to rock and hold him. The boy was a freak! I love my kids, but there are times I would love to have a remote control. But given that I don't have a remote control, I do the best I can. If they freak out in public, that is when I decide that today is not the day to teach them how to behave in a store. There's always tomorrow...