This mum's supermarket act with her kids raises eyebrows: ‘They are FOR SALE’

Navigating the aisles of a supermarket with children in tow can be a challenge for any parent. It's a balancing act of keeping the kids content while managing the shopping list.

But one mother's approach to this challenge has sparked a debate on parenting and supermarket etiquette that has people talking.



The incident unfolded in a Coles supermarket and was shared by a bystander on social media.

‘I was out doing groceries, and I saw a mum with two kids. One in the trolley, the other one, might be five or six years old, walking beside her,’ she said.

The mother in question, shopping with her two children, was seen peeling and handing bananas to her eldest child right in the produce section.


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A bystander shared a mum’s questionable supermarket act with her kids. Credit: Facebook


‘I was a bit shocked,’ she admitted. ‘And was in shock some more when she came back and got another one.’

‘She peeled it and gave it to the same kid. They were big bananas, too.’

She added that there was no ‘free fruit for kids’ stand in this Coles branch.

The post quickly ignited a conversation online, with many jumping to the mother's defence.

Fellow shoppers pointed out that the financial impact on Coles, a company that reported a $1.1 billion profit last year, would be negligible.

'I think Coles will pull through,' one commenter remarked.

‘I’m pretty sure the billion-dollar grocery chain will survive another day. You should see what they throw out,’ another said.

‘I love how you said big bananas too, like would it have made a difference if they were small?’ a third noted.



Others shared their own experiences.

‘I’ve asked the ones that don’t have a free fruit stand if we can get something. They said it was more than okay, they just removed the free fruit stand because teens were coming after school and abusing the system. Two kids = two bananas,’ one shared.

‘I always ask a Coles employee if there is no free fruit stand, and they are more than happy for children to have an apple/banana/pear. Leave this woman alone,’ another said.

‘Definitely have done this before; most shops have a free kids area, and when they don’t, my girls don’t understand that,’ another parent admitted.

'My child cracks it if she doesn't get a banana. I totally get this mum's situation,’ a commenter added.



However, the original poster stood her ground, expressing concern over the message this behaviour might send to children.

‘I myself have experienced my toddler asking non-stop for a banana. So I go and pay for some before I continue my shopping. LOL,’ she wrote.

'Responses here are why kids today seem very entitled.’

‘Yes, they’re just bananas. Yes, Coles has a huge profit. But still, they are FOR SALE.’



While ‘Free Fruits for Kids’ programs are successful in some supermarkets, people still take advantage of the free fruit meant for children.

In a previous story, a Woolworths customer attempted to take bananas without payment from the store’s ‘Free Fruit for Kids’ stand despite not having any children with him.

The incident was shared on social media, sparking debate among other shoppers. You can read more about the story here.
Key Takeaways
  • A Melbourne mum was criticised online for peeling and giving her children bananas in a Coles supermarket without paying first.
  • Other parents came to her defence, pointing out that Coles is a large corporation likely unharmed by the act and mentioning that the store has profited significantly.
  • Some commenters admitted to doing similar things, with many stating that other Coles supermarkets offer free fruit for children and staff often allow it even without a dedicated stand.
  • The original poster reiterated her position, suggesting that allowing such behaviour contributes to a sense of entitlement in children.
Have you witnessed similar acts in supermarkets? Do you think the mother's actions were justified, or do you agree with the original poster that it sets a bad example? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
 
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gosh you are pathetic. tell me what would you charge if you were selling fruit in a shop?
Depends on the price I had to buy it wholesale and how I would cover my costs. I believe I am still permitted to think that 4.50 a kilo for bananas, up about $1.30 a week ago, might be expensive? Perhaps it isn't; please enlighten me with reality. What's the official inflation rate per week?
 
Why can't kids just go shopping with a parent, they can surely wait for a snack. It's just something they have to learn, feed them before leaving home or bring a snack for them to eat.
 
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Funny how the woman posting had enough time to see her come back for a second banana why are you why are you watching people if you where doing your shopping you wouldn’t notice you go shopping to shop not worry about what others are doing you should be worried about why it worries you so much to put on social media
The saying "Stay in Your Own Lane" applies here!
People are doing it tough & supermarkets are NOT!!
Fair enough that adults shouldn't be doing this, but leave the hungry kids alone!
 
My great grandson wanted a banana the other day and Coles don’t do it so I had to buy two bananas then do my shopping he is used to Woolies
My apologies to you, Elaine Senior - my reply is not to you. It is a general response on the topic and I accidentally wrote it in the reply section and have since ‘edited’ it by my response here to you. My full & original comment is below:

Sorry, but I do not agree with a number of comments here. Yes, it is definitely stealing & even though the child might be 3, 4, 5 years old they see their mothers or fathers do this sometimes more than once each shop. That registers in their little brains and then it becomes a way of life to ‘steal’ or think they are permitted to do so while growing into the teenagers we’re seeing these days who have no respect for anyone.

I’m sure there is a way supermarkets can hand out A PIECE OF FRUIT to a child upto the age of perhaps 5. One small child, one piece of fruit and only at one central point. A staff member can be allocated to that job and anyone ‘stealing’ another piece should be challenged by management; after all their cameras are ‘watching’ us all the time. As for spoiled brats that want to get their own way by screaming, yelling and generally having a tantrum, it is about time parents ignored them and started acting like parents and not give in.
 
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It's not a good example to set, just taking Items without permission,reducing Food Prices would alleviate many issues, free Fruit Children Stands could be supervised by Staff
 
"These people need to stop smoking, drinking, gambling, using drugs and getting tattoo's..."

Please provide proof that that particular woman smoked, drank, gambled, used drugs and / or was tattooed.

But its nice to be indignant and blackguard those whom you don't know, isn't it? When did you last beat your wife?
Good grief! It's probably not a good idea to criticise someone for making assumptions, and then do exactly the same thing yourself. You say you didn't accuse Geoff of beating his wife. Your last sentence does exactly that, albeit in question form.

Complaining about 'gratuitous insult and slander' carries little weight when you're partaking in it. Can we PLEASE act like the adults we are - chronologically anyway - and allow others to have a different opinion from us without feeling the need to be insulting?
 
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Did anyone else read $7.90 a kg for bananas in that photograph? That price surprises me as even in the depths of darkest, cruellest mid-winter in a non-banana-belt State the price-gouge people's price of bananas yesterday was merely $4.50c. And people bother to buy them at $7.90 a kilo? And even so, walking off with them without an invitation to do so is theft.

PS. I merely asked a classic catch question, an insinuendo, to illustrate the unpleasantness of comment made by author of that contribution , " These type of people......" a definite and deliberate insinuendo about that particular person he was referring to in this Grand Banana-theft controversy.
 
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"These people need to stop smoking, drinking, gambling, using drugs and getting tattoo's..."

Please provide proof that that particular woman smoked, drank, gambled, used drugs and / or was tattooed.

But its nice to be indignant and blackguard those whom you don't know, isn't it? When did you last beat your wife?
Amazing how the people who complain the loudest at not being able to afford food/rent etc seem to be covered in tats (tramp stamps) which would have set them back many hundreds/thousands of dollars. I am not talking about the odd 1 or 2 tats but whole sleeves/body/legs. They always seem to find a TV camera etc to complain to. Time these people had a reality check.
As for the banana thief - no excuse for stealing - great role model for the kids.
 
You led with your chin in that sentence, "These people....." etc. And I never said that you beat you wife. That is the class of insinuation you made starting with your sentence, "These people etc.......". There is too much of that type of gratuitous insult and slander in such "e-chat" sites as SDC. "General observations" of the type you made created the social justification for a lot a good people having ended-up in Hitler's concentration camps with the knock-on results that we still see today; with that remark I must be showing my age.
Imo, that was a classic set-up of the humdinger order. And got the intended response. Followed by the verbal uppercut that was hidden, but known about from the start.

From reading that first laid bait, I awaited with similar breath and there it was, coming in, spinning as good as out the hand of a S.W. The raging bull, blind to the obvious even though from own mouth. No knowledge of the impending exposure swiftly announced and delivered in an altruistic manner, but there it was again. Only the berserkers or bewildered ones unable to foresee the final outcome grunting like the nearby devils that could now be familiar.

Impressive sting Pomipodean
 
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Well, it is about eating fruit and may or may not be about theft.

Apparently Woolworths think it a good idea for kids to get fruit.

Reminds me of the times long ago Nana asking the local butcher if I could have a slice of fritz (known as devon in some parts) or maybe the butcher got in first and offered it. Yum. Haven't forgotten. Maybe that's why Woolies do it and some Coles stores permit it if asked.

Is it indeed a marketing tool to attract a potential lifelong customer or simply a friendly store-person doing a good thing even though not a formalised store policy.

Possibly the lady had asked in advance. If the child was a regular visitor to Woolies, is she/he a bad egg for asking when in Coles. Children like regularity.

I can't see it as a big deal. Sometimes the eyes don't reveal the facts if the full context is not known.
 
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You led with your chin in that sentence, "These people....." etc. And I never said that you beat you wife. That is the class of insinuation you made starting with your sentence, "These people etc.......". There is too much of that type of gratuitous insult and slander in such "e-chat" sites as SDC. "General observations" of the type you made created the social justification for a lot a good people having ended-up in Hitler's concentration camps with the knock-on results that we still see today; with that remark I must be showing my age.
Actually you said"When did you last beat your wife" which to me suggests that you did imply that Geoff01 was beating his wife .
 
In my day you weren't allowed to go shopping, you stayed at home.
We were tught manners and how to behave.
The law was set down before you went anywhere and the consequences were laid out, and carried out.
The kids today are like Ferril animals, apart from the minority.
 
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