Indeed it is not.
What I don't get is the "snacking through the store" trend, where not only do they help themselves to the grapes, but you see kids sitting in the cart munching their way through a box of cookies or crackers. Is it not possible to survive a half hour or hour of grocery shopping without eating?
Maybe it's just my age or traditional upbringing showing, but my parents didn't find it necessary to feed us during a trip to the store and in fact taught us that the items didn't belong to us until they were paid for. I suppose "eat now, pay later" may be related to the current mindset of instant gratification and people buying things on credit.
Yes, there are certainly worse things in the world, and it may be a perfectly acceptable practice to many, but I admit I was a bit surprised the first time I saw this.
For the record, I've never seen anyone, adult or child, grazing the produce department and I've been grocery shopping thousands of times.
Would you be as horrified to see me drinking a cold bottle of soda as I shopped? Sometimes you get thirsty and checking out is still 30 minutes away. It's not like I'm going to stash the empty behind the Cheez-its. Technically, it's not mine yet. But, I'll continue until a shop employee objects. I think I've adequately expressed my intent to pay by opening it.
As far as kids eating in the store, it may not be the first stop of the day. Maybe Mom's gathering up a few staples after 4 hours in a Doctor's waiting room. And it's 2 hours past Junior's regular lunchtime. I know some people would strongly object to a demonstrably cranky kid in the store. I think opening the box of graham crackers is preferable. Kids aren't machines. Finding the on/off and volume switches isn't always simple.