Parents asked to leave cafe so couple could 'enjoy' their outing: 'Had no right'
By Naomi White|
Do babies and kids belong in cafes? It depends who you ask, according to Reddit.
A recent post has ignited debate, after a dad shared his experience of being shamed over his eight-month-old's babbling.
After heading to a cafe next to a local park, the couple were enjoying coffee and a pastry with their baby, when he started babbling.
Given they were seated outside, and he wasn't loud, they didn't expect it to cause any disruption, until an older couple a few tables over began throwing them sour looks. ?
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"They looked at us with distaste and made a loud comment about how parents ruin going out for others with their babies. A few minutes of babbling later, she asked us if we could keep our son's voice down," he shared.
After saying they'd try, they put a show on for him to watch to try to keep the peace, but he continued to clap and babble.
"?As we were about to finish and leave, she turned around and asked us to leave so she and her husband could enjoy their day out. I told her she came to a local park, sat at an outdoor cafe, and had no right to make us feel bad for going out with our son."
The woman told him she'd never taken her kids out, and they needed to be more considerate of others. While her husband told to 'that was enough', the dad couldn't hold his tongue.
"?In anger I threw out a comment about how she should be ashamed of herself as a mother to make other parents feel bad for enjoying themselves, especially in a public place where noise should be expected."
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His wife told him he'd gone too far, and after sharing the story with others, worried she was right, so asked Reddit if he responded poorly.
Of the more than 2,200 comments, the majority of Redditors said he was right to push back against the woman's demands.
"You're right, if they don't want to hear everyday noises, they can stay home. Enjoy your sons babbling," said one.
"I don't particularly enjoy being around children at restaurants. But a babbling baby making nonsense noises? Adorable," agreed another.
Others argued the woman's reaction said a lot about her character.
"I shudder to think about the deep-seated communication issues this rude woman's kids must have if babbling was seen as a reason to refuse them social interaction as tiny children," said one person.
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"How dead is your soul if the sound of a baby gurgling and babbling happily in the sunshine doesn't make you smile.?
"If they wanted silence, their day outing should have been at a library or a cemetery," quipped a third.
However not everyone agreed, with some commenters arguing their son was probably louder than they realised.
"I've found that some parents can't tell the difference. I've been in restaurants and planes and stuff before where a child was legitimately screaming and the parents just dismissed it as "cute babbles, little baby noises," said one.
"Really, it's truly like they just are so used to loud noises that they think it's normal for everybody else to be listening to screeching too, and that it's annoying if someone in fact doesn't want to hear that on their nice night out," agreed another. ?
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