Gregory Robinson
A mum was left furious after she claimed the staff at a café she visited asked her to sweep up after her baby.
The woman posted about her experience at the ‘family friendly café’ on the parenting forum Mumsnet.
She explained as how she made her exit, one member of staff gave her a dustpan and brush and asked her to sweep the bits of food under the highchair used by her child.
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She added that if she thought the mess under the highchair was an unreasonable amount she would have cleaned it herself but according to her, the child only left a few bits of food on the floor.
The mum is a regular visitor at the café and she would often go with a group of friends.
She explained that the previous week one of her friends had been told off by the manager for failing to clean up her mess left under her baby’s high chair.
The mum’s post read: “This week, as I was packing up to leave (with a screaming overtired baby who is refusing to nap because of teething!), she gave me a dustpan and brush and pointed at the few bit of food under her high chair and asked me to clean up after myself.”
She went on to add: “To make it clear, if she had made an unreasonable mess I would of course have cleaned it up (or tried, it's a bit difficult when you don't have any cleaning materials).
"But it was a few bits on the floor. I've offered to clean up in other cafes and they've said "don't be silly, we'll do it!"
The mum said she told her own mum about the incident, who then encouraged her to leave a negative review on their page and called the café’s actions ‘unreasonable’. However, the Mumsnet user feels torn about doing so.
The post left Mumsnet users torn about what the mum should have done, with many users chastising the mum for not cleaning up after her baby.
One commenter said the mum was being unreasonable and said café staff should only have to clean tables and deal with ‘a few crumbs’ especially during busy hours: “Clearing after customers in a busy cafe should be clearing tables, wiping them down and maybe dealing with a few crumbs whilst the cafe is open with more thorough cleaning done once customers have left.
"It shouldn't be cleaning up the mess made by someone's kid throwing whatever they had all over the floor.
“If your child makes the mess, damn right you should clean it up”
Another parent called out the mum, writing: “I always clear up after my baby it takes 5 seconds whilst they are still in the chair to use a baby wipe pick up the pieces and put onto a plate etc to be cleared away.
“It's what you would do at home why on earth should someone else do it for you when out?”
While a third Mumsnet user said they don’t expect other people to clean up after their toddler, especially café staff.
“I always clean up after my toddler. I find his half chewed food mess disgusting and I’m his mother! I don’t expect other people to deal with it.
“You don’t need ‘cleaning materials’. Presumably you always have a packet of baby wipes with you… I just use baby wipes to get everything off the floor. Being offered a dustpan and brush would be great.
“Yes they usually say “oh don’t worry about the mess”, but it’s just politeness, I don’t think they actually want me to stop cleaning up.”