Anyone who has ever fed a baby in a highchair will know full well the mess these little cuties can create - and sometimes it lcan look like a bomb has hit.
Most parents come to expect the mess and get on with it, but one woman was not happy with the situation she was left in.
The young mum had an unfortunate encounter with cafe staff and has been left wondering whether their request was reasonable.
Trying to gauge the situation, she posted on Mumsnet, and many respondents have described her actions as unreasonable.
The mum explained: "I go with a group of friends and out babies to a cafe each week. Apparently the week before last, the cafe manager had a go at one of the mums because she said that her baby made mess under his high chair and she didn't clean it up before she left."
An unusual request that doubtless would have been discussed among the group, but the following week, it happened again.
"This week, as I was packing up to leave (with a screaming overtired baby who is refusing to nap because of teething ), she gave me a dustpan and brush and pointed at the few bits of food under her high chair and asked me to clean up after myself."
Advertised as a very 'family friendly cafe', she was stunned. She continued: "To make it clear, if my daughter had made an unreasonable mess, I would of course have cleaned it up (or tried, it's a bit difficult when you don't have any cleaning materials). But it was a few bits on the floor. I've offered to clean up in other cafes and they've said, 'don't be silly, we'll do it'."
The young mum admitted feeling self-conscious about bringing her baby to cafes in future and making a mess - and her mother suggested revenge she should shame the cafe.
"She said I should leave a negative review about it on their cafe page because she seemed to think it was unreasonable," she said.
She is tossing and turning over who was right in this situation, asking: "Is it unreasonable to ask a parent to clean the floor after their baby? I'm torn because on the one side, I can see how it would be annoying for the staff. On the other hand, I don't bring cleaning materials with me and it's advertised as family friendly., which I would think would mean they're aware that babies make mess!"
She didn't garner a great deal of support to her Mumsnet post, with many suggesting, 'her baby, her mess, so clean up'.
One comment said: "I’d say food on the floor is beyond the realms of normal mess and I’d expect to be asked to clean it up. People are absolute rotters in cafes and restaurants."
Another queried: "It's super odd to be handed a dustpan and brush!!!! But then how much mess was there?!!!"
A mum shared her experience: "When my son was at that stage of dropping things from a high chair (and note that I always bought all his food from the cafe or whatever) I would ask for a dustpan and brush or use wipes to tidy up. Its just polite to the staff."
Others wondered what the big deal was, with one writing: "If they offer you the dust pan and brush and your baby made the mess with food I would clean it up before I left. Surely you sweep it up whilst baby still in highchair? It would take a minute to do it."
Finally, someone pitched in with some good old fashioned common sense
They wrote: "I look at it a bit differently. If I walked into a cafe and there was food in the floor, there's a good chance I'll walk back out. I don't want to sit surrounded by mess and my mind says, 'if it's like that where the customers sit, what's it like in the kitchen?' If the staff are busy and I had caused the mess, I'd think it only right that I should clean it up - to make it look like the sort of place I'd like to eat in. It's only fair."
