A Mom Was Brought To Tears After A Rude Encounter During Her Toddler's Tantrum

Will the mom shaming ever cease? Yet again another burnt-out mom just doing her best was chastised in public for her kid just... being a kid.

Holly Sherry, a mom of a two-year-old and a four-month old, was just trying to get her kids fed some dinner at a fast food place after a long day when her toddler had a meltdown inside the restaurant. Though some witnesses were kind, one woman brought her to tears over the incident.

Sherry, under the username @alongcamehollyy, posted about the rude encounter on her TikTok account, sobbing as she explained how one person’s unkind words can truly affect how a mom views her parenting skills.

Sherry mentions that the tantrum her daughter threw was one of those big ones — one of those epic, channeling-their-inner-demon tantrums where she was “throwing herself and writhing around under the table.”

Sherry, who also happens to be a former pediatric speech language pathologist, knew that this was just one of those tantrums that toddlers have from time to time. She knew how to handle her daughter and that she’d wear herself out.

After one good samaritan came up to her offering some help, another woman decided to make her own opinion about Sherry’s daughter’s tantrum known, and it wasn’t favorable.

She asked Sherry if she needed any help. Sherry politely declined, noting that she’s “got this.”

“She should have been like, ‘Okay. I understand.’ But instead she says, ‘You sure you don't need help? She's been crying for quite some time now,’” Sherry imitated the woman with a not-so-nice tone.

After asking her to leave her alone, the unkind stranger began to argue with her.

“Like, you just don't say that to a mom that's struggling,” she said. “They're trying to make me feel bad for my daughter crying at Chick-fil-A, like, for freak's sake, we're not in a freaking five-star restaurant, okay?”

Sherry did note that after the rude moment with an intolerant stranger ended, she was helped outside by a restaurant employee who told her she was doing a great job. And she is! Any mom who takes her baby and toddler out on a solo outing deserves all the awards.

Why do we treat mothers this way? If we saw someone sobbing on a park bench, would we walk over and berate them? No, we’d ask them how we could help and what was going on. Why can’t we treat moms and children with that same kindness?

Moms are just in the impossible situation of being stuck between society telling them that they need to get their kids out of the house, have them adapt and learn to be out in society while simultaneously making about zero places kid-friendly and glaring at them when their child doesn’t behave perfectly.

Support for Sherry rolled in after sharing her vulnerable moment with her TikTok followers.

“This breaks my heart for you😭😭😭 you don’t say that to a mom. Toddlers are gonna be toddlers and any mom should understand that❤️‍🩹,” Emilie Kiser, a fellow mom influencer, wrote in the comment section.

Another user pointed out that though it’s so easy to focus on the one negative person, try to see all the good that occurred during that stressful moment as well.

“That 1 lady was the only person not supportive. Don’t waste more energy on her. You are an amazing mom. I love watching u w/ your babies. ❤️” another user wrote.

The OP replied, “So true. The employee and other moms were so kind. I cried more bc of their kindness than anything ❤️‍🩹”

Others related to Sherry’s story, confessing that going out in public strikes fear into them because, as all moms knows, babies and toddlers are unpredictable.

“The fear of being judged for my baby crying in public makes me never go out with him and i know it shouldn’t be that way. Moms are superheros ♥” another wrote.

Another echoed, “Crying because I’ve been in the same situation.. I’m sorry mama. People are absolutely ruthless.”

In a world full of people who want to shame a mom for doing her very best, let’s all try to be the ones lifting moms up and offering a helping hand. And let’s try to recognize as a society that sometimes toddlers have tantrums and babies cry — and that’s okay.