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

[WDSearcher]

Having not read the entire thread, my answer is ... it depends.

If the restroom doesn't have a changing table, and the mother changes the baby in an out-of-the-way part of the seating area and then cleans up afterwards, I don't think it's a big deal. Most people probably wouldn't even notice it.

But if she plops her kid down on the middle table and then doesn't even make an effort to wipe up after, leaving the dirty diaper sitting on the garbage can, that's something different altogether.

I've seen people changing their kids in quiet corners at Disney -- in waiting areas, lobbies, garden benches, etc. They do it quickly and quietly and I seldom see anyone else even notice.

 

[Social Worker Sue]

Our kids are welcome in all restaurants and treated with respect. We take our children everywhere as does everyone we know.

I just showed this to my Canadian friend and she chuckled. She said that her circle of friends enjoy dining out minus their toddlers. They do go to very upscale places (where the maître d would be less than thrilled to see a child), but she said "Taking your children out with you wherever you go is certainly not indicative of the Canadian culture".

So, children are not welcome in ALL restaurants, just the ones that you frequent.

 

[LSmith]

Yes that is the Starbucks I was referring to! The one in the Beaches!

The employees that work there are awesome and welcoming to everyone. I wish they had a wine bar at night.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Having not read the entire thread, my answer is ... it depends.

If the restroom doesn't have a changing table, and the mother changes the baby in an out-of-the-way part of the seating area and then cleans up afterwards, I don't think it's a big deal.

Aside from being unsanitary and probably illegal, no big deal?

 

[LSmith]

I just showed this to my Canadian friend and she chuckled. She said that her circle of friends enjoy dining out minus their toddlers. They do go to very upscale places (where the maître d’ would be less than thrilled to see a child), but she said "Taking your children out with you wherever you go is certainly not indicative of the Canadian culture".

So, children are not welcome in ALL restaurants, just the ones that you frequent.

So your friend is the authority? We have taken our kids to many high end restaurants and were all treated with the upmost respect. Well behaved children are welcomed everywhere we've been.

People are certainly allowed to dine without their kids but I can't believe how many people are offended by their presence. I have witnessed lots of uncivilized behaviour from adults in restaurants. I think it's hilarious to think that parents shouldn't bring kids to Starbucks.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

There are definitely high end restaurants where children don’t belong, the same way they don’t really belong at midnight movies, etc. That’s not really what this is about. At all.

 

[klangkat]

Well, For the past two years I've worked in two cafes. Both had changing facilities in EVERY bathrooms (male, female and disabled) and still parents attempt to change their babies' nappies at the tables.
I've had every excuse from 'I didn't know there were changing facilities... but I've started here now so...', to, 'I didn't want to leave my book/coffee/coat here and go to the bathrooms' to 'I'd rather change it here'...
Baffling to me.
People are sitting literally 4 or 5 feet away eating and drinking, I have no idea why people think changing a nappy is acceptable there.
But basically what I mean by posting this is that I think it's a kind of person who has a certain mentality, whether or not the facilities exist.
so in relation to this story, no, I don't think it's ok to just change a nappy at the table - it's hygiene.

 

[kevschickee]

Aside from being unsanitary and probably illegal, no big deal?

I agree

 

[NHdisneylover]

Wrong to you.

No all Americans but definitely the culture is different. It's the same in all of the Northern Europe countries.

Which things are you saying happens in Europe? That parents take their kids everywhere or that people do not want kids in every single location?

I have seen many more 'wrongly disposed of' feminine products than I have ever seen 'wrongly disposed' of diapers. But maybe that is just in my area. Even choosing most of the time to not use the changing tables in restrooms and take care of my child in the comfort of our vehicle I still think that the option should the there in EVERY restroom.

Everywhere? Like strip clubs, night clubs, adult movie theatres, (or really ANY movie theatre----if a child is small enough to be on those tables and in diapers they are almost certainly too young to be expected to sit quietly through a movie), etc ?

 

[Nancy F]

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...-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? "

No WAY would I not have said something to this woman. Ignorant or trying to get a rise out of people??? A little of both I'd say.
Nancy

 

[WDSearcher]

Aside from being unsanitary and probably illegal, no big deal?

To me? Nope. No big deal.

If we're going to expel people from Starbucks for being unsanitary, I'll start with the people sneezing out into the open air as opposed to behind a napkin and people who leave their kleenex and used coffee cups for someone else to have to pick up and throw away before I'd yell at a mother changing her kid in the corner of the restaurant and then wiping down the table with a disinfectent wipe afterwards.

Not to mention ... how are you monitoring whether or not the people in front of you in line have all washed their hands after they used the restroom, just in case the dollar bill you get in change was the one that they used to pay? If you drop something on the floor -- your keys, some money, your phone -- do you do a quick check for germs before you bend over and pick it up?

There are unsanitary items all around you in any public place. For me, it's less about what the person is doing (changing a baby) and more about how they're doing it (quietly, discreetly and cleaning up thoroughly afterwards).

And illegal? How is changing a baby in a public place illegal?

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

Yes, our Starbucks in Toronto love families. The one I frequent in the Beaches has lots of comfy chairs, sofas, a fireplace and, gasp, children's books for the kids to read while the parents relax with their drinks. They will often make free drinks for the toddlers. I'm willing to bet there are change tables in the washrooms as well.

It seems by the anti-kid comments on the DIS that Canada is a much more family friendly place. Our kids are welcome in all restaurants and treated with respect. We take our children everywhere as does everyone we know. When our kids scream or cry, we remove them from the premise. We don't think that our children only belong in Chuck E Cheese and McDonalds.

Not everyone is raising little out of control hellions and if you are than 100% of the blame lies in the parents, not the kids.

With all due respect and from one Canadian to another, that is a HUGE assumption you are making about our American friends. We have travelled in the US every summer for the last 15 years since my kids were born and never, not once did I ever feel that my kids were not welcomed ANYWHERE. People are people and we all love and respect our kids regardless of where we live.

Of course never did I change diapers while other people were eating, so yes I totally agree with the "anti-kid" comments on the dis. They have nothing to do with the kid but with the clueless, rude parents.
BTW I have seen the same thing here in Canada several times and I have made the same comments about my fellow rude Canadians.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

To me? Nope. No big deal.

If we're going to expel people from Starbucks for being unsanitary, I'll start with the people sneezing out into the open air as opposed to behind a napkin and people who leave their kleenex and used coffee cups for someone else to have to pick up and throw away before I'd yell at a mother changing her kid in the corner of the restaurant and then wiping down the table with a disinfectent wipe afterwards.

Not to mention ... how are you monitoring whether or not the people in front of you in line have all washed their hands after they used the restroom, just in case the dollar bill you get in change was the one that they used to pay? If you drop something on the floor -- your keys, some money, your phone -- do you do a quick check for germs before you bend over and pick it up?

There are unsanitary items all around you in any public place. For me, it's less about what the person is doing (changing a baby) and more about how they're doing it (quietly, discreetly and cleaning up thoroughly afterwards).

And illegal? How is changing a baby in a public place illegal?

Sorry, I'm not going to even engage this ridiculous post.

 

[LSmith]

With all due respect and from one Canadian to another, that is a HUGE assumption you are making about our American friends. We have travelled in the US every summer for the last 15 years since my kids were born and never, not once did I ever feel that my kids were not welcomed ANYWHERE. People are people and we all love and respect our kids regardless of where we live.

Of course never did I change diapers while other people were eating, so yes I totally agree with the "anti-kid" comments on the dis. They have nothing to do with the kid but with the clueless, rude parents.
BTW I have seen the same thing here in Canada several times and I have made the same comments about my fellow rude Canadians.

My kids have travelled to approximately 35 states over 100 times in the last 20 years and they have been welcomed everywhere we've gone too. We obviously love the States or we wouldn't keep going back. I'm talking about people on the DIS commenting that children shouldn't be welcomed in certain places. Dear god re-read my comments.

 

[okeydokey]

My kids have travelled to approximately 35 states over 100 times in the last 20 years and they have been welcomed everywhere we've gone too. We obviously love the States or we wouldn't keep going back. I'm talking about people on the DIS commenting that children shouldn't be welcomed in certain places. Dear god re-read my comments.

There are places where children should not be welcomed. I am not saying that Starbucks is one of them, but parents should know better than to bring their kids to some places. Do you believe that children should be welcomed in every place? Really?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

There are places where children should not be welcomed. I am not saying that Starbucks is one of them, but parents should know better than to bring their kids to some places. Do you believe that children should be welcomed in every place? Really?

Nobody believes that. Come on.

 

[LSmith]

There are places where children should not be welcomed. I am not saying that Starbucks is one of them, but parents should know better than to bring their kids to some places. Do you believe that children should be welcomed in every place? Really?

Well behaved people should be welcomed everywhere. Absolutely. OK obviously not strip clubs and bars and the like. This conversation is getting ridiculous.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Well behaved people should be welcomed everywhere. Absolutely.

A well behaved six year old doesn’t belong at a bar or at a rated R movie, or out late at night, or any number of other places.

 

[LSmith]

A well behaved six year old doesn’t belong at a bar or at a rated R movie, or out late at night, or any number of other places.

Seriously, we started with people thinking kids shouldn't be at Starbucks and now it's bars and R rated movies?

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Seriously, we started with people thinking kids shouldn't be at Starbucks and now it's bars and R rated movies?

Nobody here said a child shouldn't be at Starbucks. They are saying that their open diaper shouldn't be at Starbucks.