Is it okay to change a baby’s diaper at a table?

[Social Worker Sue]

I don't think a baby should be changed where people are eating. Even if it is cleaned properly and there is no risk of disease, who wants to smell urine or poop while they are eating?

How can anyone think this is normal?

 

[kevschickee]

I don't think a baby should be changed where people are eating. Even if it is cleaned properly and there is no risk of disease, who wants to smell urine or poop while they are eating?

How can anyone think this is normal?

Exactly

 

[moon]

Yup ... that was me. But most people commenting on that post miss the part where I said that I didn't think it was a big deal if the table was in a quiet or discreet place and they cleaned up after themselves. As I said in that post, I see it all the time at WDW -- someone takes their child to a quiet corner and does a quick diaper change and cleans up after with disinfectant wipes. And pretty much no one ever notices.

No one never notices? What about the SMELL? Who wants to smell that when they are eating?

 

[Social Worker Sue]

And where does it end?

What about a late bloomer 4 year old who is not trained? Can he or she be changed in a dining area?

Can my severely disabled 12 year old nephew be changed "discreetly and quietly" where people eat?

 

[ols386]

No, it's not ok to change a baby's diaper in the eating area of a restaurant.

The woman could have taken the baby out to her car and changed the diaper there.

 

[goofyintoronto]

And where does it end?

What about a late bloomer 4 year old who is not trained? Can he or she be changed in a dining area?

Can my severely disabled 12 year old nephew be changed "discreetly and quietly" where people eat?

Thats a good point! I think its wrong. Sorry. Most likely the mom/dad has a stroller, use it to change your baby. Or do it in the car. Whether or not they wipe down the table afterwards, its irksome and gross for a lot of folks.

 

[mhsjax]

Times have changed. *Many* people of child bearing age now expect to have everything they want or need available to them whenever they want or need it.

I totally agree. When I had young kids I never "expected" to have a changing table in every establishment.

 

[2Kds2K9]

Question for those of you that think it's okay to change a baby on a table as long as you clean it afterwards. How many times have you changed your baby on your kitchen table or kitchen counter? Really? Again, I don't agree with tending to bathroom needs in a dining area.

 

[dogluva]

Again ... if the person changing the baby completes the task and wipes down the entire table with a disinfectent wipe, I don't see a huge deal there.

When you walk into a Starbucks or someplace, buy your coffee and sit at a table, do you inspect it first to be sure that there are no germs? Do you know the last time it was cleaned by staff? Do you know if the water they were using was pristine or treated with disinfectent? Maybe the last people who used your table sneezed all over it and no one has had a chance to clean it yet. Maybe someone let their dog lick whipped cream off your chair.

There are a gazillion reasons why that table you're about to sit at could be rife with germs and invisible unsanitary things. But I'll bet if someone came up and wiped it down with a couple of Clorox wipes, you'd be all "Great! Clean table." How is that different?

Still not okay, don't justify bad behavior. Six kids and never felt the need to a change my babies where people eat. I am not a germaphobe either.

 

[minkydog]

Question for those of you that think it's okay to change a baby on a table as long as you clean it afterwards. How many times have you changed your baby on your kitchen table or kitchen counter? Really? Again, I don't agree with tending to bathroom needs in a dining area.

And there you have it, folks! The whole thread boiled down to the nugget. Because I think AAAAALLL of us would be horrified if our sister-in-law or best friend plopped their baby down on the granite counter tops and started cleaning up poop or pee. Heck, I don't even like cats walking on the counters--they walk in their own poop all the time. You would never clean up the dog poo in your yard and then set it on the dinner table. I dont' care if you bleach everything six ways to Sunday, I'm not eating off surfaces that double as toilets.

 

[BraythansMom]

Oh my goodness!! Under NO circumstances would I ever change my child in the public area of a restaurant (or anywhere for that matter)! If the place we are at doesn't have a changing table, I change him in the car.

I never just expect the place we are going will have a changing area... If they do, great! If not, I take him to the car. I agree, it's not the establishment's job to supply a changing station.

 

[WDW_Diane]

I say NO WAY. Under NO circumstances should a baby be changed where people eat. So disgusting

Then the dad became furious that the employees told his wife to wipe down the seat after the diaper change. He dumped his coffee on the floor and said "Make sure you clean that"

What dreadful people.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/05/14/starbucks-calls-police-on-woman-after-changed-her-baby-diaper-on-seat/

Is it okay to change a baby’s diaper in a Starbucks if there’s no restroom changing table?

"That question led to a fight between a Denver mother of a one-year-old and Starbucks employees that resulted in a call to the police.

According to 9News.com in Denver, Ruth Burgos had to change her one-year-old son’s diaper while getting a coffee on Friday night. Realizing that there was no changing table in the store’s restroom, she changed him in the seating area, on the seat.

“As a mother, you have to do what you have to do. Wherever you have to do it,” she told 9News. ”I just kind of wiped him off, cleaned him off as quickly as I could.”

Her husband says a Starbucks employee was rude to his wife, speaking in what he claims was a “demeaning tone.”

“He said make sure to wipe the seat when you’re done,” he said. “They started talking amongst themselves and laughing about it.”

He got so mad, he says, he dumped his venti coffee on the floor, saying, “Make sure you clean that.”

A Starbucks employee called the police to report a "disturbance," but ultimately nobody was arrested.

The coffee chain's representative Jaime Riley told 9News that Starbucks "apologized to the Burgos family," and wants all customers treated with "dignity and respect."

The issue of available changing table have long been an issue at restaurants and coffee shops. There have been several attempts to petition Starbucks to make changing tables standard at all shops, as well as online tips on which locations have them and which don't. There's even a blog dedicated to restaurants and other eateries that don't have changing tables in men's bathrooms.

9News posted the story on its Facebook page, creating some interesting responses: While some argue that changing tables are cheap and should be installed in all public bathrooms, others say Burgos could have gone into her car or even changed her son on the floor of the bathroom.

One posting read: "That is DISGUSTING. Why couldn't she just leave the Starbucks and change her child in her car?! Or perhaps be more prepared with a changing pad she could put down in the bathroom? Or do ANYTHING other than change her child's DIAPER in a room where people are EATING?! Ugh. People."

Another person posted this: "Businesses should be more accommodating!!! If there's no changing station I have to lay my baby on the floor not cool!!"

What do you think? Was is okay for Burgos to change her son's diaper on the seat? Were the Starbucks employees out of line? "

Absolutely not! Can't believe anyone would think that would be acceptable.

 

[WDSearcher]

Question for those of you that think it's okay to change a baby on a table as long as you clean it afterwards. How many times have you changed your baby on your kitchen table or kitchen counter? Really? Again, I don't agree with tending to bathroom needs in a dining area.

In a pinch? I've changed a couple of babies on the kitchen table (like the day we were having the upstairs bedrooms painted and the changing table was off limits for a couple of hours), and once on the granite countertops, on which the baby was sitting while we were playing with water toys in the sink. I've changed diapers on the couch too, and on the bed. I use a changing pad with a towel underneath. And then I clean the table or the countertop or the couch or the bed the same way I clean off the changing table. It's not like I change the diaper and then smear poo all over the table and leave it there until dinner time.

Then again, I also let my cat walk around on the counters too, so I guess I'm just a horrible nasty person.

 

[Social Worker Sue]

. And then I clean the table or the countertop or the couch or the bed the same way I clean off the changing table. It's not like I change the diaper and then smear poo all over the table and leave it there until dinner time.

But for me, it isn’t just about being clean. It is common knowledge that you don't deal with bathroom matters where people consume food. If you want to change diapers on your table at home, really, I don't care. That is your business to behave like that in private. But don't think it is normal to go to a restaurant and do it in front of people eating.

Then again, I also let my cat walk around on the counters too, so I guess I'm just a horrible nasty person.

That is disgusting. Sorry. Shudder. Litter box paws on your counters? Not to mention cat hair. And if they decide to sit, cat butt? On a counter!?! That's a whole other thread of grossness.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Oh geez, put this thread out of its misery.

Hate to tell you but if someone has a cat it is most likely walking on the counters, at least when they aren't home. I'm sure they wipe them off, it's not really shudder worthy.

 

[Laura66]

Oh my goodness!! Under NO circumstances would I ever change my child in the public area of a restaurant (or anywhere for that matter)! If the place we are at doesn't have a changing table, I change him in the car.

I never just expect the place we are going will have a changing area... If they do, great! If not, I take him to the car. I agree, it's not the establishment's job to supply a changing station.

This!!!

 

[Planogirl]

No one never notices? What about the SMELL? Who wants to smell that when they are eating?

I was wondering why no one mentioned that. I can see me sitting there enjoying my scone and then getting hit by a sudden foul odor. Just great.

Oh geez, put this thread out of its misery.

Hate to tell you but if someone has a cat it is most likely walking on the counters, at least when they aren't home. I'm sure they wipe them off, it's not really shudder worthy.

I wholeheartedly agree with your comment about killing this thread.

 

[mhsjax]

Oh geez, put this thread out of its misery.

Hate to tell you but if someone has a cat it is most likely walking on the counters, at least when they aren't home. I'm sure they wipe them off, it's not really shudder worthy.

Sudder worthy to me, VERY shudder worthy.

 

[Social Worker Sue]

Oh geez, put this thread out of its misery.

Hate to tell you but if someone has a cat it is most likely walking on the counters, at least when they aren't home. I'm sure they wipe them off, it's not really shudder worthy.

Cats can be trained to stay off counters. But, like I said, that is a whole other thread Hey, I didn't bring up the cats But I do shudder at the thought of them traipsing on counters. It is very shudder worthy to me.

Back to changing diapers. We can all agree (well, most of us) that it is wrong to change diapers where people eat. And that restores my faith in humanity

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'm a nurse and what I have seen, smelled and had splash on me would probably cause many of you to pass out cold, if a cat walking on the counter is that upsetting for you.