For any parent, taking the kids out to run errands can be a challenge. But when you've got a newborn and a toddler in tow, it can feel impossible. So, when Redditor u/bubblybotany was met with unsolicited parenting advice from a stranger while trying to do a Target run with her two young children, she was understandably frustrated.

In a post on the social media site's Parenting subreddit, she shared her story under the title, "To the lady who mom shamed me at Target, you obviously have never had a toddler."

"I was adventurous yesterday, and foolishly decided to go to Target with my 2-year-old and 1-month-old," she wrote. "My toddler is experiencing full-blown terrible twos, she is very stubborn."

As any parent knows, children can be willful and disobedient at times. They may not always listen to reason or heed warnings, which can put them in danger. Such was the case with the mother in this story.

Her daughter had taken her jacket off and wanted to walk in the middle of the street, despite oncoming traffic. The mother tried to reason with her and get her to move to the safety of the sidewalk, but the daughter would not listen. Faced with the prospect of her child getting hit by a car, the mother took matters into her own hands and grabbed her daughter's arm, pulling her to safety.

It was a necessary action to prevent her child from being harmed. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way.

One onlooker accused the mother of hitting her child, despite the fact that she had simply been pulling her to safety.

"I just saw you hit your daughter. People are watching, you know.'"

Yikes.

The mother noted that she "never once hit her. I may have seemed a little rough when I pulled her arm, but the other option would have been to let her get hit by a car. Secondly, I have a baby in a carrier. It's not like I can really pick her up the way I normally would. And lastly, if she was screaming, it was not because I had hurt her, it was because she didn't get her way so she was throwing a fit."

The mother went on to say that she is already struggling to maintain her sanity with a crazy 2-year-old and a newborn baby, and she doesn't need some random person to criticize her parenting. She then addressed the Reddit community, writing, "Please tell me you have all had meltdowns like this and handled it similarly. I don't think I abused my child. If I have to be a little stern to avoid her trying to kill herself, that's ok."

Many Reddit users agreed with the mother, sharing their own stories of dealing with tantruming toddlers.

"My daughter - 18 months at the time - had a meltdown in walmart at one point, my husband finished checking out while I took her outside. I had to grab her arm and pick her up because she tried running away. I held her as she lay stiff as a board, screaming her head off, and I'm 6 months pregnant (showing badly) and trying to waddle her outside," one user said, who has since deleted her account.

She continues, "A lot of people gave me looks and a security guard actually followed me - didn't approach me though. People are just rude and judgemental. Ignore them - I'd rather grab my child by her arm than have a car almost hit her. You did nothing wrong."

Another simply said, "Fuck that lady."

Regardless, u/bubblybotany had the support of the parenting Reddit community. After all, we could all use a little support. We're all just trying to do our best, aren't we?

You can access the original Reddit post here and add to the discussion.

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