If you mind your own business, then you won't be mindin' mine

I was grocery shopping yesterday, and as usual Captain Chaos was "helping". He never rides in the cart, but prefers to walk next to me so I can tell him what items we need and he can get them and put them in the cart. As soon as we got there, he found a ball that he wanted. Thank you, Publix, for leaving them out right where kids can easily get to them. Is it really necessary for grocery stores to sell balls anyway?

So my kid picked up a SpongeBob ball and started playing with it. I wasn't in the mood to argue about it, and I thought it might entertain him while we shopped, so I let him have it. It was fine until one of the stock boys started playing with him, encouraging him to throw and kick it. Then, of course, this employee went on his merry way to clock out and head home. By then, my son was ready for PLAY TIME! After he almost knocked over a display and startled a couple of people by kicking the ball at them as they came around the corner, I told him not to kick it again. Of course, he kicked it anyway. So I told him that if he did it again, I was taking it away until we got home.

Well, he's an almost 3 year old boy. So OF COURSE he did it again. Then he looked at me and said, "I kicked it," with a defiant look on his face.

So, I took the ball away. I put it in the cart and told him he couldn't have it until we got home. He threw a fit. A fit that lasted at least 15-20 minutes, all the way to the check out line. As I was unloading the groceries to pay, two ladies were staring at us, and heard me explain to him again why he could not have the ball. That's when one little old lady leaned over and said to my son, "Tell your mommy that you won't kick the ball again. Then she will give it back to you."

WHAT?!? Did this woman really just tell my kid what I was going to do?

Naturally, my son looked at me and said, "Mommy, I won't kick it again." So I had to turn to this woman, who has now made me look like the mean old mommy, and tell her, "No, he can't have the ball until we get home. He had a chance to mind me, and he chose not to."

That woman looked at me like I was Satan. No kidding. And the other woman stood there for several seconds, glaring at me and shaking her head. When I think back, I can't believe how long those two women stood there frowning and looking at me with disdain.

Here I am, struggling to stick to my guns and be consistent with discipline, and these two ladies are not only giving me dirty looks, but undermining me by telling my son that he can have his ball back! You think I didn't want to give it back to him? He would have stopped crying and causing a scene, AND I wouldn't feel like I had hurt my poor kid's feelings. I don't like to make him sad. But I also don't want him to be the kid that no one else wants to play with because he always has to have his way. And I don't want him to be the boy that none of the teachers want in their class because he doesn't listen.

I'm trying to be a good mom and raise a polite, well-behaved kid! It's not always easy, but if I want your help, I'll ask for it!