As any parent can tell you, having a child and taking care of them can be quite stressful. Sometimes, parents just need a little break, but even that can bring its own set of challenges.
The mother in this story discovered this when she decided to take her baby to a local restaurant. The baby began to cry, and although she immediately stood up to take the baby outside, someone in the restaurant shouted at her, insisting she should leave the baby at home.
This incident has sparked quite the debate online. Was she right to bring her baby to the restaurant, or should she have left the baby at home? We leave that up to you to decide.
Here’s what happened, in the mother’s own words:
I, a 30-year-old woman, have a three-month-old baby. Yesterday, my husband, some friends, and I went out for lunch, and we brought the baby along. We chose a trendy gastropub known for its $15-$20 burgers—it’s in a high-cost living area. We’ve been dining here a couple of times a month for the past six years, and it’s not uncommon to see families dining with their children. So, it’s not like we took the baby to a child-free zone. We were seated on the outdoor patio.
For the first 30 minutes or so, the baby was sitting on my lap, making quiet baby noises. Eventually, he started to fuss, so I stood up to take him outside the restaurant to calm him down. Since I know people will want specifics, here’s exactly how it happened:
The baby started fussing.
I stood up and took a pacifier and blanket out of my bag.
As I was walking towards the patio exit, the baby started crying.
If what happened next hadn’t occurred, the baby would have been crying for no more than 20 seconds in the restaurant. As I was leaving the patio, someone from another table tried to get my attention. I assumed they thought I had dropped something, so I started looking around. The person shouted again, this time saying something along the lines of, “No one wants to hear your baby. You’re not special!”
I’m not one for confrontation, so I just turned around and left. After getting the baby to calm down, I returned to the restaurant. The man attempted to get my attention again, but I just ignored him and walked by. The baby didn’t fuss for the rest of the meal, though the man and his date continued to give us dirty looks until they left.
I’ve discussed this with my mom friends, and the opinions are split. Some believe the man was completely out of line, some think I shouldn’t have taken the baby out until he was older, and others don’t take their kids out to eat at all, considering it rude to others. I’m seeking a broader range of opinions here. Am I in the wrong?
