A kind stranger paid my shopping bill when I realised I didn’t have enough – just because I’m struggling doesn’t mean I’m a bad mum
A mother-of-three was left in tears after a stranger’s kindness helped her pay for her weekly groceries.
Beth Nelson, from Denton, Tameside, looked teary-eyed TikTok as she talked about how she couldn’t afford her weekly grocery shop for her family of four.
The young mother explained that she had gone to the till when she realized she would not have enough to pay her family’s £41.65 food bill.
The distressed mother was thinking about what items she would have to put back in her already small but necessary grocery store, when the kind stranger came to her rescue.
A visibly emotional Beth shared on TikTok how a Good Samaritan stepped up to pay for her groceries, telling her that just because she’s struggling right now doesn’t mean she’s a bad parent.
Beth Nelson (pictured) struggled to recant the story of being unable to pay for her family’s groceries. She told viewers she had to ‘run home to cry’
As she pointed her camera at the few items she could get for just over £40, the mum-of-three sobbed: ‘I literally had to run home and cry.’
Tearful Beth told her TikTok followers of around 18,800 that everyone at the till started staring at her because she realized she was short of money for her store.
In a video that has now been viewed more than 140,000 times, the mother of three cried: ‘I got to the checkout and I didn’t even have enough. People were staring at me.”
The struggling mother began weighing which essential items her family would need more of.
Fortunately for Ms. Nelson, a customer who had reportedly been in a similar position before came to help with the bill.
But when the friendly stranger asked Mrs. Nelson for a conversation outside, the mother of three feared the worst.
She became afraid that the woman would swear at her when she stepped foot outside the supermarket, or worse, throw offensive language and names at her.
But to the mother’s surprise, the charitable stranger wanted to offer some words of encouragement.
The struggling mother of three was embarrassed as fellow shoppers stared when she didn’t have enough for the weekly shopping for her and her three children
Ms Nelson fought back tears as she revealed a kind stranger offered to pay for her groceries, while also reassuring her that despite her struggles, she is not a bad mother.
She even handed Mrs. Nelson some money to help the family get through the rest of the week.
Beth managed to catch her breath while temporarily silencing her sobs and said, “The woman was really nice.”
The mum-of-three continued: ‘She gave me a huge hug and said she had been in the same position before.’
Trying her hardest to hold back tears, Ms. Nelson added, “She reminded me that just because I’m struggling right now doesn’t mean I’m a bad mother.”
The woman told Beth that there are parents who can empathize with her plight, as they too have been in a similar situation.
Beth shared how the kind stranger reminded her how many people had been in exactly the same situation as her at the grocery store checkout.
People flooded the mother of three’s comments section, sharing their own financially precarious experiences.
One wrote: ‘I know this all too well. I have to pay €20 every week for me and my son. I’m going without, so he doesn’t think you’re a great mother who does her best.’
Another said: ‘Know this feeling all too well. Currently on day three that I don’t eat myself, so that my children have food and gas and electricity. I hope you get better soon.’
People flocked to the comments to show their support for the struggling mum-of-three, with an outpouring of similar experiences from many commenters
One person told how they ‘cried for weeks’ after a woman bought them nappies because they didn’t realize there wasn’t enough on their bank card.
Others lifted the mother of three up and said, “Please don’t ever think you’re a bad mother because you’re going through a hard time. You do your best for your family and that’s all you can do.’
Some called the charitable stranger “one of God’s angels,” while many encouraged the mother of three to pass on the kindness.
One user wrote: ‘That lady was there for a reason. I guarantee your opportunity to become that lady will come.”
Ms Nelson assured viewers she would pass on the good deed once she was ‘back on her feet’.