probably would have dont the same as the mother did, be the bigger person, obviously the boys mother has no class, taking a cart from a child thats like stealing from a baby second she is teaching the boy to steal, taking something without permission, did the boy and his mother even know if the girl was using it first

In this world there are all kinds of people and you can never leave this unattained. Unfortunately that is the world we live in. The woman who dumbed the cart was in the wrong. It was best to ignore her because it was obvious she did not have good since. It is best to walk way sometimes from people whom are ill willed.

I cannot begin to understand why any person [male or female, mom or not] would remove another's person's groceries from any kind of a cart, let alone one intended for use by a child. The mother is obviously quite self-concerned and without regard for others. This is what she is teaching her child.

I am assuming that it is quite obvious that you must go upstairs to the organic food section and I am also assuming that this requires anyone interested in shopping in that section to "abandon" the cart at the bottom of the stairs. Regular patrons of the market are probably well aware of this fact and, with all of this in mind, I have to say that I would have confronted the woman in a "very polite but firm" way. I don't know what I would have said but I think "handling" the situation immediately and directly will teach the offended child that you do not have to be a victim or a doormat under the feet of a growing breed of meglomaniacs - that you can [and should] speak up for yourself.

Of course you can't control the other person's reaction but, if you hold the high ground and state only the facts in the situation, you are setting an good example for your child about being assertive. Positively fueled assertiveness is often a good fix in many life situations and I think it is a lesson that can only be taught by example.

I am really stunned by all of this. I can't say I have seen these little carts or know how the situation works at this supermarket with two floors, but regardless this was obnoxious and so rude. What will stop this little boy from going to school tomorrow and dumping someone else's toys because it is convenient and because his mommy did it? Ugh!!!!
I can be a very blunt person but honestly I would have been left speechless. The woman obviously didn't have much class so who knows how she would have responded to this poor mother in front of children no less. The best person to speak up is a member of the staff. If I worked there I would have probably said to that mom, "for future reference, if there are items in the cart we assume it is being used. We would be happy to help you find an empty cart."
I hope that dear child got a special treat or something to make up for that traumatizing event.

Well, it was weird to dump someone else's groceries out of a cart, but then again, sounds like the mom abandoned her cart to go upstairs. If I had left a cart full of stuff to go somewhere else for 5 or 10 minutes, I wouldn't be that surprised to find it missing or empty when I got back.

How childish and selfish of that mom to behave in such a rude way. She not only made a fool of herself but was an awful example to her child. Unfortunately your child observed some gross behavior by an adult - simply terrible behavior by an adult-- but this episode can be a valuable learning opportunity for your child. I think if you are worried or unsure about speaking up to someone like that woman, probably best to let it go. Many of us are outspoken and I probably would have said something to but speaking up in some circumstances escalates the problem so not to worry if you didn't. Just wondering if there was a shortage of children's carts at the store that day? If so I might ask the manager to have more children's carts available so there are plenty to go around.

It's very annoying that someone would dump the groceries, but I also think that this mom is feeding into making her daughter feel like the poor little princess who was such a victim to having the cart taken away. This is a good opportunity to teach your child that life is not all rosey, when we are in a public place we share things, or sometimes things happen that are not in our control. Letting something like that ruin your day is silly.

It is also possible the mother really thought someone abandoned the cart. As a token of charity, give her the benefit of the doubt. Also I agree with romaniagrl, that it is a great opportunity for your child to learn that things don't always go our way, that maybe the other mom made a mistake and thought the cart was abandoned. Without speaking to the mom, we will never really know that she was intentionally being rude. Just another way of looking at the situation...Best to you and your child!

What a bleep! I sometimes though am so astonished at things though myself that I don't know what to say either. That's happend to me before. I was so shocked at the other persons behavior that I couldn't even believe it happend or knew what to say. Then of course after the person is gone a flood of fabulous witty things come to mind. I hate that! I think though I might have gone to the person and said, "Did you not notice the cart had things in it?" Something unwitty and less clever. Oh well. Don't beat yourself up about not standing up. It could happen to anyone.

But true, it is possible the other woman thought that it was abandoned. I do think though IF, that were the case she could have waited a bit for someone to come along and take it since it had items in it. If it were empty, that would be different.

I agree that children need to learn they don't always get their way, but I would also not want to encourage the idea that being taken advantage of is ok either. I understand your wanting to instill that early.

The only thing I find objectionable about this scenario is the fact that the woman emptied the contents of the cart on the floor. The least she could have done was remove the items to a regular carriage or if that was too much for her, contact an employee and ask them to remove them.

If the child's cart was abandoned as it would have seemed to be to me with either no parent or child in sight, I would not have hesitated to let my child use the cart but I would have taken a different approach regarding its contents.

Just my opinion.