An Australian mother said she was stopped and publicly accused of shoplifting after a store alarm sounded when she exited with a book for her toddler, later discovering the alert was triggered by a garment still carrying a retail tag.
Jessica Mendes recounted the incident in a video posted to TikTok under the handle @authorjessicamendes. Mendes said she had taken her toddler into a Big W store with a book from home instead of giving the child an iPhone to keep them occupied. As she was leaving, staff stopped her and asked her to empty her pram and show receipts, telling her the book looked "so shiny and new." Mendes said the encounter occurred in front of about 50 onlookers and left her embarrassed and shaken.
Mendes said the alarm was ultimately found to have been set off by a jumper purchased at Target that had been placed deep in her stroller with its tag still attached. She said she produced four different receipts to staff before she located the tagged garment. "When I say my soul left my body after being stopped and asked to come back, empty the pram and show 4 different receipts in front of so many shocked onlookers, believe me," she said in the post. The post’s caption included the line, "Lesson learnt – don’t take your own books anywhere."
Viewers responding in the comments section described similar experiences and raised concerns about how parents with strollers and people of color are sometimes treated in retail settings. One commenter wrote, "There have been times that I’ve literally been asked to move my baby out of the pram to check that I didn’t hide things under her." Another said, "I’m a brown person with a newborn and I no longer go to Big W alone. I take hubby with so he pushes a trolley while we shop." A third commenter described being accused of stealing a bag of chips while shopping with hungry children.
Many users offered practical suggestions to avoid repeat incidents, including marking children's books with a name or personal note, taping receipts to frequently used items, or designating a specific pram book with identifying stickers. "We have a go bag that we take with everything labelled with her name!" one commenter wrote. Others suggested taping a receipt inside a favorite book or attaching a name label so staff can more easily verify ownership.
Mendes said the experience left her uncertain whether she should revert to using a phone to occupy her child or seek other alternatives. She did not indicate whether Big W staff apologized at the time or whether the retailer responded to her TikTok post. Retail stores commonly use electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags on clothing and other merchandise, which can trigger alarms if tags are not removed at the point of sale. Leftover tags on recently purchased items have been known to set off alarms as customers leave stores.
The incident highlights tensions that can arise when security measures and customer interactions intersect, particularly for parents managing young children in public settings. Mendes’s video has prompted other shoppers to share comparable stories and practical steps they take to avoid similar confrontations in stores.