I don't get upset often, but I think I still have steam rolling out of my ears. I just came back from a little excursion to Linton with my 14-year old daughter to help her do some of her activities for her 4-H Consumer Clothing project. She's learning how to become a smart shopper and take care of her wardrobe. The project manual is chock full of activities such as comparing labels on laundry detergent, checking clothing for quality, and making a chart that shows the cost-per-wear on purchased items.
The main project she was working on today was learning to compare prices. She had to choose a product that came in at least three different sizes, and record the amount of the product and the price in a notebook. She was to do this in three different stores. We started at Walmart, moved on to CVS, and ended up at Dollar General. She decided to pick Listerine Cool Mint Mouthwash and also a variety of Colgate toothpaste so we'd have a backup in case one of the stores didn't have enough different sizes.
We didn't have any trouble at Walmart. I even took pictures of her balancing all of the different sizes of Listerine in her arms. We didn't have any trouble at CVS, either. But just as we were finishing up at Dollar General, an employee approached us to ask us what we were doing.
I explained to her that we were doing comparison shopping for a 4-H project. She told me that we couldn't do that there. Again I explained what we were doing. I figured maybe she had misunderstood and thought I was out scoping out prices on behalf of the competition. Surely a reasonable person would not kick a 4-Her out a store for completing an educational activity! But I was wrong--the woman informed me in no uncertain terms that she couldn't allow it. I will admit I took a quick look at the prices on the toothpaste ($3.50 for a double pack, $2 for the next one down, $1 for the smallest one) and told my daughter to write them down as soon as we turned around the corner of the aisle. We didn't have time to get the ounces, but they seem to be the same size as the other ones we wrote down at Walmart and CVS.
So she'll get her project done. Even though that woman made my daughter feel like she was doing something bad by writing down prices in the store, she'll be able to do her activity. On the way home I bought her an ice cream cone to make her feel better. No child deserves to be made to feel like a criminal for doing a 4-H project.
I did call and complain when I got home, so hopefully Dollar General will educate their employees a little better. 4-H is an amazing summer program and it does so much for kids. I hope they will make an effort to support it instead of discourage it.
