Do/Will you clean up after LO in restaurants?

jaysgirljulie · August 2010

Today I went to a breast feeding support group/moms group and some of the girls invited me out to lunch w/ them. I had a really great time w/ them but I was a little ashamed to be with the group because one of the girls had a 10 month old who was eating solids and she left the biggest mess all over the place. The mom did not even attempt to clean it up at all. She even works in a restaurant!

I know I'm pretty clueless about children and I'm in for a rude awakening when Ryan starts being more mobile & messy but geez! I will always at least attempt some sort of clean up in public. On the plane when we have a messy kid we usually give the parent a trash bag with a big smile and say, "looks like you are going to need this." Most always the parent usually attempts to clean up & most of the time does a pretty good job.

What do/will you do? Do you expect servers etc to clean up after your kid?

redshoegirl · August 2010

If it was just a little smeared food on the table I wouldn't worry about it because everywhere I've worked as a waitress, we always wiped the tables down between customers anyway (or replaced tablecloths if it was a more upscale place).

However, if there were chunks of food on the table/chair/floor, yes I'd definitely pick them up! I pick them up when *I* drop them, so why not when my kid does it? I suppose that technically it's the server's job to clean up no matter what, but I think there's still a line that gets crossed and leaving a big mess isn't OK unless there's a correspondingly big tip to go with it. Stick out tongue

missaloha · August 2010

i absolutely clean up. i was a waitress for years and thought it so rude when parents didn't. i'm not saying spotless, but def. clean up off the floor, basic table stuff. and i feel if one doesn't have time or can't, leave an extra BIG tip!

MauiWedding08 · August 2010

I have only had to think about this once (last night actually - Jack made a little mess with the sushi) so far.

I picked up any big piece that got dropped and planned to pick/swipe up any of it that I could at the end but the hostess came over with a broom and said don't worry about it.

Going forward I do not plan to climb under the table and wipe things down, but I will pick up any big items that I can get to and will leave the table as nice as I can (usually what I do anyways) in terms of grouping things together, placing the napkins on the plates as we finish so the server doesn't have to.

However, we do plan to incorporate table manners once he can understand it and I wouldn't let him eat out if I know he will make a huge embarrassing mess. I think 10mo might be a little young for that so I would just worry about trying to pick up what I could... I'm thinking of when I worked at a sports grill type place in scottsdale and the 3+ year olds would leave food smeared all over the place, pieces of grilled cheese in their water glass and ketchup covering every surface while their oblivious parents just sat back and allowed it Angry

sanae78 · August 2010

Omg, I HATED when parents would let their kids make a huge mess on the plane and not pick it up. It drove.me.crazy. We did the same thing with the trash bags and I'm amazed at how many parents looked offended. Whatever. Yes, I plan to clean up after my kids as much as possible but I think I'd rather try to prevent the mess if possible so I won't have to pick up after them too much. Probably easier said than done, but I'll try!

jaysgirljulie · August 2010

Okay good, looks like I'm not the only one who would feel this way. I don't care all that much about what strangers think of me but I was ashamed to be with them because it was almost like being with someone who was being rude or vulgar to the server. I hate when people talk down to those giving them service. Leaving that mess was rude & vulgar IMO, just not w/ words.

Married2MrWright · August 2010

I do...I think it's rude to just let your kid make a mess and then leave it for someone else to clean up. We took Libby to a sushi place last week and she dropped some of her food on the floor. I picked it up and set it aside on a dish that was empty. This restaurant also offers warm hand towels, so i requested one and used it throughout the meal to keep Libby and the space around her clean.

MrsNJSwimmer · August 2010

I try to clean up as much as possible - including stacking plates and putting all silverware, napkins, straw wrappers, etc on the empty plates. Like pp said, if there's something on the table that will be cleaned up when they wipe the table, I'll leave that there, but I usually try to pick up as much as I can.

myday1708 · August 2010

Yes, I clean up, as best I can... I don't crawl under the table, so sometimes I don't get all the puffs on the floor, but I do collect all the easy to reach puffs, wipes, empty containers, etc. and either put them all on a plate or throw them away myself. And I use a wipe to wipe off the high chair.

Many times we are bringing our own baby food to the restaurant (jars of food, applesauce, puffs), so I feel like it's their job to clean up their food but our job to clean up our food. If they wanted to be mean, they could tell us we can't bring in outside food! Of course they would lose our business, but that is still their right. I also give a good tip as well.

inamra · August 2010

Yes, definitely! Heh, I'm actually a fairly messy eater for some reason =P and I usually try to wipe down tables after myself actually (but the waiter/waitress usually stops me midway through), so I'm pretty sure I'd clean up after LO too, but probably not go crawling under tables, like pps mentioned.

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