Have your kids ever embarrassed you in public?

In My Humble Opinion
1

By embarrassed, I don’t mean chagrined or disconcerted. I mean mortified. This thread made me think of this. Since I don’t have children, it never happened to me, but my wife told me a doozy from when her middle child, now 30, was about 3 (before we were married). At the checkout line of the local grocery, the little darling decided to pull a sit-down screaming tantrum. My wife grabbed both of his arms and got in his face, ready to give him a stern “You straighten up right this minute, young man” speech. Whereupon he began yelling at the top of his lungs, “Don’t hit me, mama, don’t hit me!”

Two things about this scenario:
[ul]
[li]My wife has never hit him in his life (he confirms this).[/li][li]He happened to have had two black eyes at the time from a car accident 2 weeks prior.[/li][/ul]
With all the accusing eyes on her, all she could do was snatch him up, leave her groceries, and drive home. I don’t believe she ever went back to that particular store.

Surely someone else out there has a similar story?

2

Last month my son spit up in the middle of a St. Louis Bread Company. I take him out once every weekend when it’s my morning to get up with him (yes, my husband and I take turns since he wakes up so god-awful early). I was standing in line, getting ready to put in our order. My son had just had a lot of milk, but was still quite hungry. I was holding him in my arms and he kept lunging for the bread samples, putting pressure on his stomach. I felt a warm gush down my hand, looked at him and just saw a lot of clear liquid coming out of his mouth. It looked like a bunch of drool and he’s been teething like nobody’s business, so I thought nothing of it, but he smelled like he used to when he was tiny and had just spit up, so I looked down just to make sure. Sure enough, there was a puddle of curdled milk goo on the floor. I quickly cleaned it up and apologized to those around me, then stood in line for another moment, trying to figure out what to do.

My kid was hungry and from experience, I knew he wasn’t at all sick. But no one else did. Should I look like a bad mother to others for forcing a sick-seeming child to remain at the Bread Company so he could get fed or leave so that no one else would be further offended while making my hungry child wait for his breakfast? If it were me, I’d probably be pretty grossed out, though understanding. But I can’t expect everyone else to just not mind when my kid gaks in the middle of the floor. Plus, I never leave the house without snacks if I’m taking my child out, so it’s not like he had to be starving for any amount of time at all. So I decided to leave and feed him at home. He never experienced any ill effects - I figure that kids are a lot like cats. They just urp sometimes. But not everyone knows that, and sometimes it happens at a really inconvenient time. Like last night when he burped in his sleep and got milk oog all over him again in the middle of the night. Yuck.

3

Not exactly in public, but once when our daughter was constipated we were trying to give her a suppository. Her anguished cries of “No! No! No!” caused the neighbors to call the cops on us. :eek: We 'splained the situation to the cops, they saw our daughter, asked her if she was okay (she told them she was), and they left with the parting advice that we should make sure all of our windows were closed next time before giving her a suppository.

4

When our middle child was 3ish, she went through a stage where a full out tantrum could happen at any moment. Not knowing this yet, she was with us in Wal Mart in the check out lane. It had already become apparent that she wouldn’t be coming on any more trips to the store with us, but as we were nearly done, Jim stayed with me.
Until that trigger went off in her head. Like the trigger that you see in the movies, where when something happens, someone might cluck like a chicken? Her reaction was a full out screaming fit.
Now being in Wal Mart with three people in front of us, and a few more behind us, and the checker seeming to be in a hypnotic trance that only allowed her to move at the slowest rate possible, and having made the trip through the store with an ever increasing grumpy toddler, this was the last straw.
Jim hoisted her up, told me they would be in the car, and away he went.
Bad enough, right?
She starts screaming, “You’re not my Daddy! Help, help!!” over and over again. Well, he is in fact her daddy.
He was stopped by security on the way out the door, as well as having caught the attention of half the store at this point.
The people in line gave me quite the looks over that one.

We refused to take her many places after that. It lasted for about another year. Then we started small, and built up after that. Now at five I rarely have any problems with her in the stores at all.

5

My daughter used to lie down on the ground and kick and scream… whenever her mom took her to the mall/Target/etc.

However, she never did so with me.

The tales my wife would tell… it was a completely different child than the one I was accustomed to taking shopping. She would behave quite well whenever I was around.

Of course, my tolerance for antics like that is about as high as a grasshoppers knee… and I’m not at all embarrassed in outclassing my kid in 'tude in public. Daddy don’t take no shit. :wink:

6

When my son just turned 4 I took him into a stall in the bathroom at a small restaurant. The only other stall was occupied. After we closed our door my son said, loudly, “Daddy, is that man making poopy too?”

We were the only people there with a child. The man from the next stall came out shortly thereafter and returned to his table… right next to us.

7

Moon Unit, on two occasions that come to mind; both when she was about 6.

At the grocery store. I had, for some reason, bowed down to the kids’ request to use one of those goshawful truck-carts. Moon Unit rode in it all the way through the store. Dweezil (9), wanted to sit in it for a few minutes while we checked out. Moon Unit vacated it, Dweezil sat in it.

Then Moon Unit decided she wanted to get back in. I decided that no, it was Dweezil’s turn, he was happy in there, and she’d had 40 minutes in the damn thing and we were going to be done in 10.

Moon Unit’s shrieks escalated to the point where I’m quite certain the WHOLE STORE could hear her. We were stuck in the checkout line at this point - it was just before Christmas, the store was mobbed, and the roast I was buying (among other things) would double in price the next day so I had to purchase it. Typo Knig wasn’t with me so there was noone to drag the kids bodily out of the store. I was mortified.

And even more so, 2 days later, shopping at Toys R Us… when another shopper there recognized my daughter by name. She was the poor soul in front of us in line at the grocery.

I know a “better” response would have been to pull the cart out of line, take both the kids, and leave the store without making my purchases but then the store staff would have had to deal with putting everything back.

And another time, at Brownies that same year. Moon Unit got upset over being paired with someone for some activity. I told her she had to settle down or we’d leave. She did not. I said we were leaving. She resisted. I had to bodily drag her out of the building - fighting the whole way. She sank her teeth into my thumb so badly it ached for a week (I was afraid she’d broken the bone). Another parent had to help me - that parent has an autistic child so is more familiar with out-of-control public situations than many so I was glad it was her helping me. In desperation, I tried spanking Moon Unit but - as expected with a kid in that state - she didn’t even notice me swatting her behind so that was unhelpful. I had to physically force her into the car - she tried to climb onto the roof.

I got her home, by which time she had started to calm down. We canceled her birthday party (scheduled for 2 days later) but could not reach all the attendees because some had not RSVP’ed so they showed up anyway, that was pretty mortifying. I still get sick to my stomach thinking about that whole scenario.

The one funny thing about it: A few months later, she came to me with a very serious, sad expression on her face and said, with GREAT pathos, “It really hurt my feelings when you cancelled my birthday party”. A Good Mommy would surely respond to that with sympathy and sorry and hugs, right? She surely had every right to expect that, right? HAH!! I said “Good!”. In utter shock, she said “You’re glad you hurt my feelings?”. I said “I’m glad you were upset. That was a punishment for your really horrible behavior. If you weren’t upset, it didn’t teach you anything. Misbehaving causes you to lose good things”.

Interestingly, the responses to that tale (tantrum, canceled party) are of two types: “You go, girl!” from anyone who has, or works with, children. And horrified “YOU CANCELED HER PARTY???” from people who do not.

8

Well, here’s another one. I neither have kids nor work with them, and I agree - party needed to be cancelled and she needed to be told why, even when it was a few months later.

9

Two of my favorite kids stories would be embarrassing if I had any shame.

I picked up the twins from day care and it was, apparently, Stranger Danger day. They were told to yell LOUDLY for the police if they felt threatened by strangers. So we’re walking and I, accidentally, let out a little ass gas. I didn’t even think it made any noise. My daughter, being at ass level, must have heard it and she started yelling at the top of her 3 year old voice:

“POLICE! POLICE! ARREST MOMMY! MOMMY FARTED! MOMMY FARTED! POLICE!”
This next story needs a little explanation. I don’t like Chihuahuas. They are ugly little rat-dogs. I didn’t know, however, that I voiced this opinion frequently. Until me and the twins were again walking down the street and a nice little old lady had one on a leash. My son gets very excited. “Ohhh, look at the rat-dog! Look at the rat-dog! Hey lady, can I pet your rat-dog?”

10

Thanks! I should clarify - the “horrified” response was from one person in particular. I don’t know that we discussed this event with too many other non-kid-associated people.

I have to admit, this is one of the few times I’ve nearly laughed in my child’s face (the later conversation that is, not at the tantrum itself). She was just so SINCERE in her digging for sympathy, and so STUNNED that I was not going to deliver it :smiley:

I love my dear daughter. She brings me great joy and often many reasons for genuine laughter (with, not at). But easy? not on your life!

11

Oh wow. You go, girl. Why waste words on more?

12

I don’t have or work with children, but I say, “You go, girl!”

13

When Third-Grade-Caricci was Terrible-Twos-Caricci I took him to the mall by myself for some unfathomable reason. He was quite obnoxious but it wasn’t till he sniffed my ass at the Gap that I had to drag him out. My face is still red.

14

One Sunday morning when my son was about two years old we went to a church service with my mother. During the “children’s time” portion of the service the minister had the bright idea to give out little rubber balls to each of the children before sending them back to their seats.

Of course it wasn’t five minutes before my son dropped his ball, which bounced swiftly down the hardwood floor towards the front of the church. He began to wail. I started to take him out, but the minister stopped in the middle of his sermon while a lady at the front of the church found a ball to bring to us.

Only, there were green balls and yellow balls. He’d dropped a green one, and she brought a yellow one, which he rejected with loud indignation.

While he continued to wail, most of the people in the forward pews searched the floor for a green ball. It was found, restored to him, and the service continued.

15

My 3-yr-old twins help me with grocery shopping – they just love to push the little mini-carts, so I take them on weekday afternoons when the place is empty except for a few grandmas and grandpas who smile and chat with them.

As we finished in the dairy aisle, I asked them if there was anything else we needed.

“Oh! Oh! I know” my son gasped. “Beer!” (shooting his fist into the air)

16

Kids that don’tlearn there are consequences to their actions - both good and bad! turn out to be the worst kind of adults, IMO.

17

Ooooh… That is where you immediately feign a foreign sounding accent and claim that this is a literal translation from your family’s native tongue for this type of animal, so very sorry sahiba (deep bow), peace be upon you. :smiley:

I have yet to have a mortifying scene with my children yet, but this is partly because I am not easily embarrassed and also consider it funny when kids say/do outrageous things. (If any of my kids did that “MOMMY FARTED!!” thing, I would just die laughing.) They werent/aren’t prone to tantrums, fortunately, and when they’ve been on the verge of throwing one in the supermarket or store or what have you, I’ve been able to distract them with a sideshow to defuse the situation.

There was the time my oldest daughter claimed she wasn’t hungry when her dinner was served at a restaurant in Montreal. Her choice of entree cost $10 and we insisted she eat at least half of it. It was some kind of mac-and-cheese dish. On the way back to our hotel she complained of a fever, then projectile vomited while riding the Metro (fortunately nobody of consequence was hit). That could have been very embarrassing, except that we were from out of town and specifically from NYC, where vomit on the subway is just One Of Those Things That Happen, No Harm No Foul, And Hey This Is Our Stop.

18

Each of my boys have done the tantrum in the store once. As it was a ploy for attention (granted mine) I made sure everyone in the store looked at them. So I’d move away from the cart/kid and then point and say “he’s right here, the one making all the noise! He’s mad because I won’t buy him that piece of candy/toy/whatever he wanted. Please look at him, he wants you to!” Talk about shutting them up quick.

There was that time that AngryKid #2, at the age of 2, was playing in the McDonald’s indoor slide thingie and took off his poopy diaper way up in the nether region of the thing. AngryKid #1 and Cousin #1, between fits of laughter, were nice enough to announce it to everyone in the restaurant. #2 is now 8, and I still refuse to go to that particular McDonald’s. I hope the poor employee who had to crawl up there and retrieve it, let alone clean the entire thing (#2 was bringing it down to throw away, so it traveled a bit of distance) got hazardous duty pay.

19

I had a moment last night…not mortifying, but embarrassing/funny.

We went to Red Robin Restaurant, the three kids aged 14, 8, and 6 and I. The waiter brings our food out after ordering and asked if we need anything, I say just a refill on water and some napkins as there were only two at the table and the kids wear more than they eat. So, he stops back with another water but no napkins. So, I ask him again if he could get some as I can see the ketchup-y situation about to get dire. He leaves and a couple minutes later the manager stops by and asks how everything is going. I say it’s good and ask her for some napkins. She goes back 5 feet and grabs a bunch and is back in 10 seconds (I had no idea they were that close). So, she drops the napkins off and the 6 year old says loudly “See! That wasn’t so hard!”

20

Oh! There was the time when my daughter dropped the collection plate at church. :smiley: