I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets disgusted by what I see in the shopping centres. I know that shopping with the kid(s) in tow is not always easy and it is very easy to get tired, frustrated and angry but we all need to be aware of our actions and how they affect the people we love. I've been very lucky so far and usually when I shop DS is happy enough. Once he threw a whopping tantrum so I just pushed the pram into a quiet corner, knelt down to DS's level, looked him straight in the eye and firmly said "STOP!" He took a very deep breath and calmed down so then I took him out of the pram, put him in the HAB, and he was calm and asleep about 10 minutes later. To me that was much more effective and productive then telling him to "shut up" or something equally as horrible.
I agree that we shouldn't judge and we may only be witnessing a one off - but somehow I doubt it and it always leaves me wondering... if they will treat them like this in public what happens at home? And you can better believe the kids will dish it right back to the parents when they are teenagers!