Going to the mall can be fun for people of all ages; that is, of course, if no one there decides to ruin their day.

For this redditor, time at the mall with her two little children was seemingly going great, until they decided to unwind and kill some time at the food court. That’s where they were approached by a lady and her mother, asking the OP to give up her table. Little did they know, the woman was not planning on moving.

A day at the mall can be fun for both adults and little ones alike

Image credits: LeylaCamomile / Envato (not the actual photo)

This woman was spending time at the mall with her two children when they were asked to give up their table

Image credits: GaudiLab / Envato (not the actual photo)

The netizen provided more details in an edit she made

Image credits: throwaway2e1

Food halls are a popular attraction in malls for those looking to grab a bite

Image credits: Matheus Bertelli / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Often equipped with a cinema, loads of stores and restaurants, and other attractions, malls can be great spots for hanging out or simply killing time. And the best part is, there seems to be a little something to do for every age group, which is why you can see everyone from teenagers roaming around, to the elderly, and the ‘littlest’ of the little ones.

Representatives of different age groups can often be seen together—well, together but separately—in the mall’s food court or the food hall. According to the New York Times, the difference between the two lies in the fact that the former usually comprises different fast food chains, while the latter offers a wider variety of choices, which tend to include artisan restaurants or other kinds of boutique eateries, too.

“Food halls are a place where there’s life and there’s buzz,” vice chairman of the global retail services team at CBRE, David LaPierre, told the New York Times back in 2017, emphasizing the draw of the site. “It’s a real social environment where people want to be.”

Back then, the number of food halls in the US was expected to exceed 200 in the year 2019, which would have marked a 700% increase since 2010. According to data from 2023, there were 340 food halls open in the US that year, with an additional 100 still under development.

Many people visit food halls not only to grab a snack, but to unwind a little, too

Image credits: Diva Plavalaguna / Pexels (not the actual photo)

In addition to providing an abundance of different food options—which is a life saver when the friend group can’t decide upon one that suits all—food halls also give people a place to relax and unwind; and let’s be honest, as fun as malls are, they can be tiresome, too, no matter the age group.

What is no secret, either, is that the little humans must get some rest; otherwise they get cranky and then they’re a danger not only to their parents, but everyone around them, too. (No one really enjoys a child screaming bloody murder somewhere in their vicinity.) That’s likely why the OP decided to allow her younger offspring to nap a little in her lap and gave the older child something to occupy them with so they wouldn’t run away while their sibling was sleeping – a strategy used by many a parent trying to get a moment of peace and quiet.

Another group that could typically use a moment to sit down and unwind more than regular folk is the elderly, who often don’t have as much energy as a teenager, or an adult, for that matter, would. That’s why quite a few netizens believed the OP should have given up her table for the woman who approached her with her mother. Others, though, said that she shouldn’t have, since said couple of women weren’t seemingly eating anything, and the arguments didn’t stop there. Both camps shared their opinions in the comments under the redditor’s post.

The OP answered some of the redditors’ comments, sharing more information

Fellow redditors shared varying opinions about the situation, but quite a few didn’t think the OP was being a jerk

Others expressed a different opinion

Some believed that everyone involved was a jerk

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