'[You] can handle my hyperactive 7-year-old? Be my guest': Senior veteran insists he knows best, parent lets her 7-year-old drive him up the wall

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 18, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

Don't underestimate the kids!

You know what they say: the hardest job is being a parent. If you've ever watched a child for an afternoon, or raised a couple on your own, you know just how true that is. Kids need near-constant attention to avoid getting into trouble, and that can be exhausting even when you have plenty of energy. 

This parent decided to take their 7-year-old to a fun toy event. They write that the kids were paired with an older veteran. However, their kid got paired with a vet who insisted on taking the child to pick out toys without her parents. I think he was really underestimating just how energetic one kid can be! As you can read in u/Dull_Luck8921's post below, this vet claimed that since he'd been in the service, he could certainly handle one little kid. Well… it's not quite that simple, but her parents were bemused and decided to let him give it a try. Hopefully, he'll think twice about listening to parents before insisting he knows their kid better than they do! 

Up next, this person took on their boss's bluff about firing them, and had the pleasure of telling that boss to "Give me a solid contract with triple the pay, and I'll come back." 

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    via Mesut çiçen for Unsplash+

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    You, a senior citizen military veteran, can handle my hyperactive 7- year-old? Be my guest.
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    This happened years ago with myself, a friend, my then- boyfriend and his daughter. We couldn't do much for toys for this particular Christmas, but our family was nominated for an event called "Shop with a Veteran." It's where kids get to go in a Walmart with a veteran and can pick out their own Christmas gifts with a set amount of money donated by civilians and other veterans. The things is, only the veteran can go in with them. I had later found out it was
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    because some parents had earlier tried to persuade their kids to get things that were more catered to the parents or another child instead of the child who was nominated. I can definitely understand the rule being enforced for this, but some children should have there parents with them. My boyfriend's daughter was diagnosed with severe ADHD and had taken her medication, but she had gotten very excited when
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    she found out about going to get Christmas gifts of her choosing. We found the lady hosting and explained to her about the daughter's ADHD and how she can be a whirlwind when she gets excited and how she doesn't like to listen to people she doesn't know. When we explained to the lady hosting the event that one of us should go in with his daughter just to make sure she behaved, she understood and talked to the veteran who was going to shop with the daughter.
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    He immediately argued, claiming he was tired of parents wanting to pressure their kids to getting things they didn't want, and he wanted the daughter to have a good time picking out her gift. The lady tried to explain the situation, but the veteran wouldn't hear any of it. I clearly remember him grumbling at us, "I've been to war, I can handle a kid." Well, in that case... After the veteran took the daughter into the store, we saw
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    two friends going in we didnt know theyd be there, but we were happy to see them. My boyfriend caught up with them and asked one of them if they could keep an eye on the daughter and the veteran. My boyfriend then emphasized that the veteran clearly thought he could handle his daughter, so let him handle her. We waited for about an hour when the veteran returned with the daughter. She was grinning
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    ear to ear at all the presents she was able to get. The veteran looked exhausted and like he had He then yelled been through at us that the daughter was the most disrespectful brat he had ever met. How she had to touch all the toys and threw everything she wanted into the shopping cart and she was a nightmare when he told her she couldn't have everything she picked out. My boyfriend packed his daughter's gifts in the car and
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    then took her back inside to start our grocery shopping. We couldn't do it while she was in there with the veteran because we had to wait outside for when they were done so we could immediately take her and her gifts. Understandable, they weren't babysitters. I decided to talk to the veteran and told my boyfriend that I'd meet him inside. I asked him if he was okay. He said he was fine, but why didn't
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    we tell him our daughter was crazy. I promptly corrected him by saying shw was not crazy. I explained her ADHD to him and how we only wanted to go in with them so she would behave. We know that she knows to behave around us, school and grandma's house. How she doesn't like to listen to strangers, even if we know them and she doesn't. I apologized and told him that not all parents want to go in to use this as an excuse to get their own gifts. Some genuinely just want to
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    make sure their kids behave. Later in the store, our friend caught up with us and told us everything that happened. The daughter had run up and down the toys aisles, she kept going back and forth from the toys to the cart throwing in anything she could get her hands on. She even screamed at the veteran when he put some of the toys back. Typical behavior when her normal authority figures aren't watching. When she was satisfied with toys
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    she did get, she kept asking for candy at the checkout, which she asks anyone for when we go to the store. It was amusing to us that a grizzled military Veteran was outmatched by a hyperactive 7-year-old. We've since then been better off and we donate money to this event every year and even toys for any toy drive they have. The veteran still does the event, but he's more understanding when certain children need they're
    via u/Dull_Luck8921
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    parents to go with them. He does. get the odd pushy parent now and then, but he handles them rather than flat-out denies all parents going in.
    via u/Dull_Luck8921

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Tags

mall veterans malicious compliance toys kids malicious-compliance-reddit toy store malicious compliance reddit funny
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