Mom's Viral Post About Toddler Going Barefoot At Target Is All Of Us

This mom is here to let you know there’s no need to be concerned about her barefoot baby

If you have a toddler or have at one point raised a toddler, then this is the post for you. Mothers of toddlers need encouragement and a sense of camaraderie like no other. Which is why this mom’s post about her barefoot toddler in a Target shopping cart is a must-read.

Ashley Moore is the mother behind Puzzle of Five, a mom-friendly Facebook page where she recently shared some thoughts for the mom-shamers who cast judging glances her way when they saw her toddler sitting barefoot in a Target shopping cart.

“Hi. You know that mom you’re judging because her kid has no shoes or socks on at the store? Yeah, that’s me,” she writes. She sees your concern-trolling, Judgy Janices, and she’s got a message for you: save your judgment.

“I’m aware his feet are bare,” she says. “I’m aware it might be a little chilly out (or maybe it’s warm, I still get the same looks) I’m fully aware his poor little toes may have gotten a tad bit chilly on the walk from the car to the store. How. Dare. I.”

This is why it’s so important to keep ourselves in check when we see moms with young kids out in public. If you don’t have kids, or it’s been so long since you’ve had toddlers you forgot how borderline torturous it is to be in public spaces with them at times — just keep your wayward glances and commentary to yourself.

“Here’s the thing…in the midst of your judgement on my parenting I’ve become extremely tired of picking up his socks from the floor,” Moore writes. “I’ve become extremely tired of realizing a shoe is missing and retracing my steps through Target to find it. I’ve become extremely tired of grabbing something off a shelf and having a shoe fly right by my face. I use to try to make him be fully dressed head to toe while we made our trips to the store, and chances are his socks are tucked safely in my diaper bag because I tried to put them on and he took them right back off. But my patience is low with silly things so I probably already gave up.”

YES. THIS. I once lost my daughter’s left Croc and a small stuffed animal in the grocery store because she was melting down something fierce and I was so sweaty and disoriented and rushing to get the hell out of there, I didn’t even realize it until we pulled in my driveway. And I couldn’t muster the energy to give a single shit about any of it.

Moore writes that her son hates things touching his feet — which, yes, why is this? My two-year-old insists on being barefoot as often as possible, even in the middle of January when her toes are literal icicles. “Socks and shoes are just little sweaty feet prisons, screw them,” Moore says.

Good point.

Basically, next time you see a child sans shoes or socks in a public setting — think twice before expressing your concern for their welfare. We’ve got things under control, OK?

Moore tells Scary Mommy she decided to write this post after a woman approached her in Target about her son’s bare feet. “She seemed completely shocked that I didn’t mind him not having them on,” she says. “He sits in the cart so I didn’t understand the big deal. I figured I wasn’t the only mom dealing with this so I wanted to just say ‘Hey mommas, I feel you. Screw the shoes.'”

Moore’s son has autism, and she says his distaste for shoes and socks is sensory-related, but she wrote this post for all moms of toddlers who aren’t feeling their shoes — which is pretty much all of them.

“His feet are bare, but he’s fine. He’s happy and I have some of my sanity intact. So excuse me while I go grab the laundry soap I came here for and 738291 other things I don’t need.”