In today’s column, a letter writer asks how she should have reacted when a mother nearby changed her baby on a restaurant table.

• We spoke to our waitress who promptly went to the manager, and he told the lady that he felt she was out of line. And he asked how was he to seat someone at that table when she left? He also came over to us and told us that he was sorry, and how shocked he was that anyone would do that.

The letter writer said.

Ellie responds with deep criticism of the mother:

• Since every sit-down restaurant must, by law, have a washroom nearby, this diaper change on a surface where food is to be placed and in view (and smell) of other eaters, falls into the category of Parent Entitlement Behaviour, which has unfortunately gripped too many new parents in our society, Ellie states.

• However, she continues, that young mother may have acted impulsively, without thinking about anyone or anything but her baby’s needs.

Notice how neither Ellie, the quoted manager, nor the letter writer mention whether a change table was available in one or both of the restaurant rest rooms? In most restaurants, there is none. A babyless Ellie, patron and manager would all fail to see the shortage here, I am nothing but sympathetic. In my career as a parent to babies, I have been directedby restaurant managers to change my baby on dining room booth seats and on the floor of restaurant washrooms…a health issue far more serious than changing a baby on a table top that should be wiped with disinfectant after each sitting.

While I would certainly prefer not to change to have baby changed on the restaurant table, I know that parents are often left with absolutely no choice. The fact that Ellie, childless restaurant patrons and even eatery managers don’t know this is just depressing. The fact that parents are said to suffer from “entitlement” because they make do with what is available, stinks much more than the contents of any diaper.

Post from: Babylune