Parenting in public is a minefield. One minute, you’re just trying to buy milk; the next, a stranger is accusing you of neglect.
That’s what happened when I let my daughters, ages four and six, watch the grocery store fish tank for two minutes while I grabbed bread. They were mesmerized, quiet, and perfectly safe—until a woman with a clipboard expression marched over and announced she was calling Child Protective Services.
“Abandoning children is illegal,” she hissed.
I stared at her. “They’re three feet from the dairy section.”
She didn’t care. She called anyway.
When CPS showed up at my house, they quickly realized the report was ridiculous. But the shame stuck with me. Had I really done something wrong?
Then I realized—no. The real problem wasn’t me. It was people who mistake parenting struggles for neglect.
So I turned my anger into action. I signed up to foster a child who actually needed stability. Now, when we go to the store, my girls and our foster daughter, Keira, crowd around that same fish tank. And when I see other exhausted parents lingering nearby, I give them a knowing nod.
Take the break. Ignore the judgment. And remember: good parents don’t have to be perfect—just present.
