Using a potty in a cafe!!

[IrisAtwood]

Very busy Starbucks. A couple arrive with a boy of around 3. The woman leaves and the next thing I see is the man with the boy on his lap. He is stripping him off and the boy is naked from the waist down. Okaaaaaaay. Don’t see that often. Must be a good reason.

Next thing is the guy is picking up a potty from the floor - boy sitting half naked on the chair. When I look again the man is on his hands and knees with handfuls of paper napkins mopping up an accident.

No one says anything. I didn’t say anything in case there was a scene in front of the little boy. The staff clearly didn’t see either. I go up to the counter and explain that the area needs mopping ASAP and why. People tut, but they wait until the couple leave before mopping!!

The couple are regulars and are the boys grandparents. Is using a potty in a cafe ‘a thing’ now? AIBU to speak to him about it next time I see him?

@IrisAtwood did the boy have an accident on the floor so they took his wet clothes of and sat him on the potty whilst mum went to car for spare clothes?

Or was it a case of "I NEED A WEE" and they wacked the potty out?

Totally not on. Why not take him to the toilets. Once got told about a woman who changed her childs nappy in a cafe while people eating around her

No. There's just no justification of this.
Accident? There's a toilet they can change in.
No... you just don't pull out the potty. It's gross.
No, you don't undress your child for an audience of java drinkers.

I don't need to be biting into my croissant to the strains of a child suddenly announcing, "Oh wait... now my poo is coming out." At three, that is totally possible.

Eeeewwwwwwwww
Couldn't they have taken the boy and the potty to the toilets?

There’s no valid reason to do this. It’s totally unacceptable. You don’t strip your child off in public and pull out a potty. It’s disgusting.

Completely unacceptable. Very lazy (grand) parenting to plonk the potty on the floor rather than taking potty and child to the toilet.
Was he perhaps afraid he would lose his table in the very busy Starbucks?

Probably not the best thing to do, no.

It really wouldn’t bother me though, I’d be a bit ‘meh’ then just get on with my day.

Not at all acceptable. Even if he had had an accident they should have taken him to the loo to sort him out. It's not nice or dignified for the child to have to strip off and go to the toilet in public.

Really glad that I’m not out of order thinking it’s disgusting and there is no need.

Celticrose I witnessed this in a restaurant once....could not believe my eyes, especially since I had not long changed my own child in the very well equipped baby change!

Disguisting. I've seen that happen in a supermarket isle too...

Gross.

Nope that’s disgusting and shows a total lack of respect for other people. There are toilet facilities and they should be used.

Urgh. As I'm older we were toilet trained by around 18 months and used the toilet from a very young age. This was in part due to being with Mummy at home and the washing of Terry nappies. We loved being picked up to pull the chain and flush the loo and wash hands properly. A lifetime habit learned which prevents bugs being passed round

I think I would certainly speak to the Manager and write to the company. Totally unacceptable.

Disgusting. Some people are pigs.

I’m potty training my DD at the moment, we went to a pub at the weekend, potty and all. However when she needed a wee I took her and the potty to the toilets. I wouldn’t have even considered putting her on it in the restaurant area, although maybe if
I had I could have eaten my meal

Did the toilets have those locks that you need a code on your receipt for and they hadn't bought their coffee yet?

Or maybe he was literally about to go and couldn't hold it in to get to the toilet?

Still gross but sometimes happens.

It is a bit vile. I’ve just been through potty training and while the process is awful, there isn’t a need to whip out a potty in a cafe. An accident is preferable to getting out the potty in a cafe as clothes contain the wee and you can bundle the child out to the loo quickly and they learn they left it too late. If the child can’t hold to get to the loo 2 mins away, they probably aren’t ready to be out in a place like a cafe or restaurant.

I’ve told a woman off who came into the restaurant I was managing for lunch and proceeded to let her kid do a shit in a potty in the middle of the bloody dining room. She looked at me like I was mad and couldn’t see what the issue was. What goes through these people’s heads?!

Yes very gross.

Wasn't there a thread a few years back when a poster described getting her ds's potty out in the curtains dept of John Lewis or somewhere so he could take a massive dump? then she got all uppity because the curtains staff politely asked if she could take her ds into the toilets so his shit stink wouldn't be wafting around the curtains? she actually asked if she was BU to complain to head office . How I wish I could remember the name of that thread.

I didn't take a potty out when I potty trained my two - if you can't get them to a toilet they are not ready. I've seen people put a potty down in the aisle of a supermarket - just no.

I haven’t potty trained a child - will someone please explain to me why children can’t wear pull ups out and about until they are able to hold it for a bit/properly trained? Is there a reason? Like I understand maybe a child can’t wait for the loo to be free, but surely this is completely unacceptable behaviour?!

I just don't get this. So lazy! Just potty train properly. Vile.