If avoiding judgement is more important to you than your kids emotions, then the fault is on you to begin with. There are several valid ways to deal with this type of situation in public, but probably all of them include severe judgement from people. And in front of my kids well-being and their emotions, people can go fuck themselves. I'll use that stage to teach my kid all the valuable lessons available in that situation while also acknowledging that *I* am the reason they're in an uncomfortable situation at a time where they didn't have the mental capacity to be in that situation.