One dad has hit back at parent-shamers and said he won't remove his crying child from the supermarket.
The papa in question, Owen Squires, has delivered the hot take that he is not the slightest bit apologetic about his child crying in public places.
Instead of judgement, Owen has declared that it is 'not illegal' for a child to cry and that it is 'completely natural'.
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Whether you're waiting in a queue at the post office, standing face-to-face with a stranger on the bus or, God forbid, boarding a plane - crying children seem to just be a simple fact of life that none of us can ever truly avoid.
While many of us can just drown the wailing out, albeit a tad peeved off, it's clear that some people take their judgement to a whole new level and one parent has decided to take a stand against it once and for all.
The dad took to TikTok to share with his 143k followers an anecdote titled: "Meltdown in the grocery store."
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And, following exactly what it says on the tin, Owen explained his views on little tots throwing a tantrum in public spaces.
He began by declaring: "If my child is ever crying at the grocery store, I am not removing them from the grocery store."
The father then backed up his bold statement, highlighting that contrary to public opinion - it is not actually against the law for a kid to throw a hissy-fit in public.
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He continued: "I am sorry if that makes you mildly uncomfortable or brings out the controlling part of your personality, but it is not illegal for a child to have feelings."
Owen then explained that the biggest reason why so many parents are critical, impatient and use 'hands-on physical discipline' of their children' is because 'society is so impatient with parents'.
Recalling the incident when his three-year-old was having a 'meltdown' at the supermarket, Owen remembered: "I can feel everybody in the f**king grocery store just like staring at us and I look around, it's like a goddamn car wreck like, all eyeballs are on us."
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He added: "Now I can feel my anxiety level rising and I can feel my anger level rising like this is affecting my ego.
"Everybody's looking at me and judging me for how my child is behaving and now I'm angry with my child for being a child."
As a parent, Owen detailed: "You constantly feel like people are judging you for your child's behaviour.
"Because they are."
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I mean, he's not wrong.
Owen went on to say that his exact judgement is the reason why so many parents feel overwhelmed and lose their tether with their kids.
"I think there would be a lot more parents willing to be patient with their children if society could just like f**king relax and be a little bit more accepting of children and the fact that they are not always sunshine and rainbows," the dad concluded.
Rhiannon Ingle