Child trashes supermarket during epic tantrum, smashes bottles

Shocked onlookers watched on in disbelief as one woman urged people “not to touch” a little girl throwing a tantrum in a supermarket.

Grocery shopping with kids can be challenging, but a recent viral video takes it to a whole new level.

The clip, which has been viewed millions of times on X, shows a little girl, who looks to be around five or six years old, throwing an epic tantrum inside a Walmart supermarket.

She is seen throwing food everywhere and smashing glass bottles while shocked onlookers and staff attempt to intervene.

The footage begins with the child kicking cans off the shelves before she moves to the dairy section, tossing packets of cheese onto the floor with reckless abandon, seemingly unsupervised.

“Where is her mother, or whoever she’s with?” a nearby woman can be heard asking aloud.

Next, the girl hurls a tub of yoghurt onto the floor, prompting two women to try to restrain her.

The girl breaks free and continues her path of destruction, throwing packets of processed meats to the ground and stomping on them.

At this point, a woman, who might be the girl’s parent, tells staff not to touch her and chastises anyone trying to come near the out-of-control child.

“Don’t touch her, don’t yell at her – she could be the next president,” she shouts.

As a crowd forms, including staff and worried shoppers, the situation escalates further.

The child grabs multiple bottles of sparkling grape juice and smashes them on the floor, leaving glass and juice scattered everywhere.

A man approaches her to try and take some more bottles out of her hands, but that same woman intervenes again.

“Don’t you do that to a little girl! You don’t know what she’s going through,” she reprimands.

She then tries to comfort the girl to de-escalate the situation, saying, “Hey, hey, hey. Calm down … breathe,” before the video abruptly ends.

A child has had a massive meltdown in Walmart. Picture: X

Leah Goulis, a mother-of-two and Kidspot’s Lifestyle Editor, shared her thoughts to news.com.au, suggesting that there might be more to the child’s behaviour.

“My first thought is that there might be something different about the child, perhaps she has autism or a similar condition that causes her to lash out. This might explain why a parent isn’t intervening, as doing so could worsen the situation,” she explained.

She added that if the child isn’t on the spectrum and is simply acting out, she questions the lack of discipline from her parents.

Some people tried to restrain her, but the little girl broke free. Picture: X

Another mum and Kidspot’s Parenting Editor, Nama Winston, agreed, emphasising that there is likely more to the story and criticised the person filming the incident.

“It is clear that the girl, and whoever is responsible for her in the store, needs help,” she explained.

“This kind of behaviour is not typical for a child her age, and I’m sure the child was scared and angry, feeling overwhelmed.”

She also pointed out that someone should have intervened, as the child was at risk of injuring herself or others.

“Shame on the person filming,” she said.

She can be seen kicking things, throwing products on the floor and smashing bottles. Picture: X

People in the comments wasted no time sharing their opinions about the disturbing scene.

“The parent should pay for every item she damaged and then be banned for life,” suggested one commenter.

Another remarked, “This is learned behaviour.”

“OMG, these gentle parenting children are going to be absolute terrors, aren’t they?” someone else noted.

Others described the girl’s behaviour as “peak entitlement,” “brattiness,” and “out of control.”

However, some commentators took a more sympathetic approach.

“That child needs mental health care immediately; there are a lot of anger issues,” pointed out one person.

“I worry for this poor girl, I hope she hasn’t been abused or neglected,” another added.

A man tried to calm the girl down but a woman told him not to touch her. Picture: X

Others reminded readers that, regardless of the child’s struggles, damaging property is unacceptable.

“I don’t care what she is going through, a responsible adult would have restrained this child before she caused more damage or possibly hurt herself or others,” commented one.

Meanwhile, some expressed that they wouldn’t have been able to just stand by and watch.

“I would have left the store. This is outrageous,” one person admitted.

A woman, who may or may not be the girl’s parent, tried to de-escalate the situation. Picture: X

According to The Raising Children Network, tantrums can involve intense displays of anger, frustration, and disorganised behaviour, often when a child “loses it.”

During a tantrum, you might observe behaviours such as screaming, stiffening limbs, arched backs, kicking, falling down, flailing about, or running away.

In some cases, children may hold their breath, vomit, break things, or injure themselves or others.

Young children often experience tantrums because they struggle to communicate their needs and feelings.

However, older children can have tantrums too if they have not yet learned how to express or manage their emotions safely.

Children can have tantrums because they struggle to communicate their needs and feelings. Picture: Supplied

Several factors can increase the likelihood of tantrums, including a child’s temperament, stress, hunger, tiredness, overstimulation, conflict, and strong emotions.

Children with ADHD or autism may experience more severe tantrums or meltdowns.

These meltdowns can be more emotional, longer-lasting, and harder to manage than standard temper tantrums.