Kind stranger helps mom at grocery store as her 2 kids have meltdowns

At one time or another, we’ve all seen a kid have a meltdown in public. It’s awkward—but when it’s your kid that’s having the meltdown, it’s even worse.

You want them to stop as much as everyone else, and it feels like everyone around is giving you looks that suggest you need to figure out how to put an end to it immediately. Many parents have no choice but to run errands and generally live their lives with their kids in tow, and even the most well-behaved kids are bound to act less than perfect every once in a while.

Rebecca Paterson, of Pearland, Texas, was recently shopping at Target with her town sons, 2-year-old Jacob and 2-month-old Aiden, when the kids both decided to go into full tantrum mode. Paterson was trying to get it under control when a complete stranger decided to help her out.

According to Houston’s KHOU-TV, Tiffany Guillory—a mother of two herself—totally recognized Paterson’s pain, and offered to hold Jacob and comfort him so that the beleaguered mom could finish her shopping. She walked around the store with Paterson for about 45 minutes, entertaining Jacob with pictures of her own children to keep him calm.

Talk about a guardian angel! The pair later told their story to the TV station:

“I was just trying to do something nice from mom to mom, because I’ve been in that situation before,” Guillory told the Houston Chronicle.

Paterson was obviously grateful for Guillory’s act of kindness and posted about it, along with a picture of the woman holding Jacob in a Target aisle, in a private Facebook group for moms in her area.

“She walked with me while I got the essentials needed for the day and kept hold of my toddler while he calmed down,” Paterson wrote, according to the Houston Chronicle. “She saved me today moms! I am so sleep deprived and was running on empty. A little kindness and understanding goes a long way.”

What a sweet story! It’s nice to know that there are kind strangers out there who are willing to step in and give you some help right when you need it most.