A Woman Wants To Know Why “Whole Families” Go To Costco Together

Every few months, it seems we get a new, semi-viral screed against children. Specifically, whether children belong in public spaces. It usually goes like this: someone gets annoyed by a crying baby or rambunctious toddler on a plane (a classic), grocery store, brewery, and, I kid you not, pumpkin patches. Recently, TikTok user Brightlyn (@brightynsletten) issued her own edict against kids in Costco (though she is hardly the first).

“Why do we have to go to Costco with the whole family?” she asked in a now deleted video. “Why is mom, dad, and three frickin’ kids here?” She has since apologized for her hot take, but folks in the comment largely weren’t having it, with many describing the video as “snarky” and “unapologetic.”

“I don't take my kids to Costco, but girl you ain’t sorry,” muses one.

“You’re welcome to babysit my children so I can Costco shop by myself,” offers another.

“Maybe you can try curbside pickup?” suggests a third.

Personally, I give the apology a C+. There’s a whole lot of “sorry you were offended” vibes happening there but considering an apology wasn’t strictly speaking necessary (she posted a complaint, albeit overly broad, in a moment of annoyance) so that’s nice at least.

But this appears to be the pattern: someone’s annoyance turns into a hot take which turns into a mix of agreement and backlash.

I get that kids can be annoying. The people who raise them are, perhaps, more aware of that fact than anyone. So I can understand a knee-jerk reaction to not wanting them around you. But the idea of expecting Costco to be a childfree space is particularly baffling. Because it seems to me that Costco is most useful for people who go through a lot of food quickly, which largely means businesses and families. I can’t imagine how buying 36 frozen burritos and 5 pounds of blueberries in one go is a best option for someone living alone. But hey, those people paid for that membership and they get to enjoy Costco however they want.

Perhaps what I find most extraordinary about complaining about kids in Costco is the fact that I’ve never been in one of those warehouses where the children were the ones throwing off the vibes. It’s usually an aggressive shopper in their early-50s to early-60s blocking the aisles or pretending they don’t know where the checkout line is forming so they can cut ahead. Like, Karen is actively ramming you with a shopping cart to take your place in line but little Timmy crying is the problem? What Costco do you go to, because I think I want to go there...

Ultimately, this vendetta against children in public spaces comes down to what is now an oft-repeated adage I’ve been seeing all across TikTok: “You have the right to a child-free life, not a child-free world.”