Well, that was fun!

I wasn't originally going to blog about this, because I like my blog to be more fun and upbeat, and I generally keep it to pictures and stories of the kids. However, this incident really upset me on many levels, so I decided to share the story and to get your take.

I was at Target on Monday with Connor while the other two kids were at school. He's all about doing everything the "big boy" way, and since I didn't have anyone else but he and I to worry about in the store, I let him walk like a big boy, instead of riding in a cart like he normally does. I just needed two things so didn't even take a basket. I just held his hand and the items we were purchasing. He was doing fantastically, until I was actually at the register paying for our items, then he was starting to try to wander off (not just a few feet away to check out the goodies behind us in the check-out aisle...He was trying to TAKE OFF), so I stuck him in front of my body, squatted down enough that my knees slid through under his armpits and pinned him in place in front of me. He, of course, loudly expressed his displeasure at being held in place, but I wasn't going to risk him running off and getting lost, stolen, or managing to get outside and being run over by a car. This woman comes running up to me, "YOU'RE HURTING HIM! MA'AM! YOU'RE SQUISHING HIM! LET HIM GO!!! CAN'T YOU SEE YOU'RE HURTING HIM!" I was sooooooooo taken aback and said something like, "he'll run off if I move my legs" and she starts in LOUDLY about it being child abuse and people like me shouldn't be allowed to have kids, and my poor POOR little boy having to tolerate horrible behavior from his mother (blah blah blah). I looked at her and said, "My knees are under his armpits on either side of him, he's not being squished, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep my kid from running off and ending up out in the street getting hit by a car, and if you think that's child abuse, YOU'RE CRAZY, LADY!" I grabbed up my purchases and Connor and headed towards the door and she hollers after me how she should really call and report child abusers like me. At this point, LOTS of people are staring because of all the commotion of the lady yelling about child abuse and Connor screaming his head off, and I'm sure some of them probably thought I really WAS abusing him!!!! I was so upset I was SHAKING when I got back to my car!!!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't hit him, didn't smack him, didn't kick him, didn't throw him around, didn't shake him, didn't scream at him...NOTHING. I simply placed him in front of my body between me and the check-out counter, and used my legs to keep him from running away. I kept my legs wedged tight enough against his sides to keep him from sliding down onto the floor and being able to take off, but there was so SQUISHING of my child involved. He wasn't hollering because I was hurting him, he was hollering because I was making him stand in one place next to me.

Here I thought I was being a good parent, keeping my child safely with me, not allowing him to mess up display shelves, or run willy-nilly through the store. Here I thought I was being a good parent, allowing my child the freedom of being on foot, to be able to learn how to behave in a store and to stay by mommy when requested. Here I thought I was being a good parent, coming up with a calm solution to a tantruming, flight-risk of a two year old.

What do you think? Was I wrong to use my legs on either side of Connor to keep him close while I was paying for our purchases?