MANY older people seem to quickly forget the realities of family life and especially the behaviour of small children.
A Chorley mum took her four year-old son shopping at a local supermarket and he started acting up. The cashier, in her 50s, reprimanded him for throwing a plastic carrier bag on the floor and threatened to smack him. Then, to the mum’s horror, she did just that. The cashier has now been suspended, but I’m afraid it shows generally how little patience people can have as they get older.
I was in a local charity shop last week when a little girl decided to have a real tantrum. I smiled sympathetically at the embarrassed mum, but the two older people on the till couldn’t help but show their disapproval.
When our children grow up, the memory of how quickly and how noisily small children can get upset disappears. But just showing a little patience and understanding can definitely help diffuse an embarrassing situation. It’s not a big ask.