Mom Praises Trader Joe's Cashier For Letting Her Toddler Play Behind The Register — But Other Parents Are Calling Out Her Poor Parenting
It's time to put the phone down.
Ground Picture | Shutterstock A mom captured what she believed was a wholesome moment of her son and a Trader Joe’s cashier while checking out at the store. However, most people — including other parents — were quick to call her out for her poor parenting decisions.
While doing the weekly grocery shopping with a little one in tow is no easy task, it's also not an opportunity to make social media content at the expense of someone who is trying to do their job. Critics urged this oblivious mom to put down her phone and tend to her child before putting him or the cashier at risk for safety violations.
A mom recorded her toddler son playing with rolls of register paper behind a Trader Joe’s cashier as she was scanning groceries.
In a TikTok video that has since been viewed over 470,000 times, Brittany Polster (@miss_bp), who has since deleted her account, decided to take a moment to graciously shout out a Trader Joe’s cashier who allowed her son, Rocky, to play behind her at the counter as she scanned groceries.
“To the Trader Joe's employees who warmly giggled and watched as Rocky sat on the floor stacking the receipt paper while I packed and paid for groceries today, thank you,” she said over a video clip featuring her son sitting on the floor playing with the receipt paper meant for the cash registers. As most things on the internet never die, especially when they cause controversy, the clip was shared and stitched by countless others.
The cashier was briefly smiling at the toddler as she tried to do her job. Polster said she hoped that her video would be a reminder to fellow moms to take a breath, assuring them that they are doing their best juggling parenthood while tackling other essential life responsibilities. All while recording her son and decidedly not helping the cashier in any way.
Many moms came out of the woodwork to argue that they were not on the same page as Polster, and her message was certainly not received in the manner she hoped it would be.
The mother's comments section was flooded with other parents who urged her to put down the phone and supervise her own child.
“You are not doing your best. Get off your phone and get your kid,” one TikTok user commented. “My kids know at an EARLY age we don’t sit/lay on public floors,” another parent shared.
“You're weird for this. Entitled parents raise entitled kids. It's not doing the kids any favors. Do better. You're supposed to teach them that the world doesn't exist for them,” another wrote.
Others pointed out that the situation was far from cute — it was simply a headache for the cashier who was just trying to do her job. “I'm gonna go ahead and tell you what that Trader Joe's employee was too polite to tell you: This is a grocery store and not a daycare. She is a cashier and not your child's nanny,” content creator Life Coach Shawn (@lifecoachshawn) responded in a video of her own. “No one owes it to you to do anything for your child… not watch them while you check out, and not let them destroy their workstation.”
Others noted that Trader Joe’s is generally a very busy store and that Polster was only holding up the line by allowing her son to make a mess at the cashier’s work station that she would likely have to clean up herself.
Cashiers and other store employees are not responsible for entertaining children or keeping them in line.
They are just trying to do their jobs, and you should be trying to do yours. Even if they smile at your kids or hand them a free piece of candy at the checkout line, they are only required to scan your groceries and help you bag.
Allowing kids behind the counter to make a mess of their work station is not in the job description. Many parents urged Polster to bring toys from home next time she went grocery shopping with her son to keep him entertained so he wouldn’t have to rely on the cashier's essential supplies.
While the cashier in the video certainly went beyond the scope of her job (and honestly deserves a raise), it doesn’t mean that she was happy to do so. Her “warm giggle” may have been a response of utter disbelief and a subtle nudge to the mom that implied, “Please come get your kid so I can focus on my job!”
The reality is, not everyone will find your kids as adorable as you do — and that’s perfectly okay.
Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.
