Mommy

Mommmy….. I want this toy!
Mommy, I want this toy…. A scream filled the department store I was in. I turned around and saw a lady shopping for groceries, face-palming herself. She looked flabbergasted, and her kid was sprawled on the floor with a toy car in his hand. She gave me an embarrassed smile and muttered under her breath,” What you need, young man, is a spanking.”
All I could do then was smile back, as she was a stranger to me and I could not say anything. I went on to the next aisle so that the poor lady would not be further disconcerted and so that she could collect herself and talk to her child. In fact, I wished for a similar response from the shoppers when my kids behaved thus. I have been preached and taught to handle kids by strangers, and I have to listen to them in embarrassed silence, even as I seethe within and wish I were millions of miles away from there.
The incident took me back to the time when I was in a department store. Somehow, I feel shopping in department stores with kids is not a good idea. I have nothing against department stores as such and am as happy as the next person while shopping in the department store- the centralized AC, the items neatly arranged in rows, the rest rooms, and the staff ever so ready to help, I like everything there. But all these pale off into oblivion if I am with my kids. In fact, these very things that I liked so much become my worst enemies.
Once, my kids and I were at the department store. I had brought them there after talking to them about what I expected from them. But once inside, my kids ran unrestrained till they reached the toy section- they seem to have an uncanny ability to find where the toy section is! This was actually a new department store, and we had never been there. I was out of breath but somehow caught up with them. They played with the toys and filled the shopping cart with what they liked. I was scared that it would damage the toys that were delicate. I was running out of time and still had a lot more shopping to do. I had a tough time bargaining and getting them to agree on one toy. I finally succeeded only after they had extracted a promise from me that they would get the other toys on the next trip. I nodded my head just to get out of there. Meanwhile, a toy car purchased by a little boy caught the fancy of my younger kid, and he insisted he too wanted that. The two kids contested hard to get it. They begged, beseeched, implored, and finally threw tantrums, and a little crowd had gathered to see what the matter was. I just wanted to get away from there and hide myself till my kids grew up!
Till then, I would rather take my kids to the retail store for toys, as the shopkeeper does not allow them to get behind the counter and ransack every shelf. They get to handle the toys that he chooses to keep on the counter. This way, I am spared the mortal fear of them damaging the toys and me having to pay up for something that will not even reach home in one piece.