Asking staff to rinse toddler plate

[leggingsandasweatshirt]

I am extremely hormonal so potentially being unreasonable, but interested to see if others think this is a reasonable request or if I am over stepping:

We were out for lunch today and I brought a suction plate for DS (almost 2) because he is likely to launch a regular plate. When we'd finished I realised I'd run out of nappy bags so didn't have anything to put the dirty plate in inside my bag.

I explained this to the waitress and apologised for being a pain and asked if it was possible for someone to give it a quick rinse so I could put it in my bag without covering everything in gravy.

She looked at me like I'd just shit on the table and responded she was trying to clear the plates. I was mortified that I had clearly offended her and said it didn't matter. My step mum then suggested I rinse the plate in the sink in the toilet which I hadn't thought of, so I then went and did that.

I have asked restaurants to do this on occasion before - am I being an entitled wanker or is this a reasonable request?!

Your two year old child could eat a full child’s roast dinner? I’ve seen plenty of good eating two year olds in my time and not one of them could have managed that amount of heavy food in one go

The waitress was probably flustered...her 'nasty' face is subjective same as her 'rudeness' I think. Others have given reasons as to why could be problematic in a large restaurant and pointed out some of the cheeky things the public do to hospitality (and retail) staff. Those that have said they would have done this in the past may have worked In a different environment. In a family run establishment it probably would be fairly straightforward. Presumably the Kids dinner came with a plate, which they would be washing up, however I would think a toddler would more than likely be sharing someone else's meal..

To be honest I'd have wiped it with a tissue and/or then discreetly rinsed and dried it in the sink in the loo

I am the poster you keep saying you responded to. You tagged me - first.

You don't need to read the whole thread. It's literally right here in 'show quote history'.

Yes, he was 11lb 2 born and and could quite happily eat a child's roast dinner before he turned 2

If only the Guinness book of records show was still on…

🙄 It's really not that unusual , he's always been tall and back then we introduced solids earlier than they do now

I guess you are just one of those people who think all children are the same though

Not at all. Just never seen a 2 year old who could eat the same dinner as a 7 year old

Her response seems harsh and disproportionate, but she might be having a tough shift. It’s really easy to wash the plate in the sink in the loos and I do this all the time ! You probably shouldn’t have asked but I wouldn’t spend too much time dwelling on it either

Youve not met many two year olds then!

My niece is 2 and we all swear she has hollow legs as she never stops eating ... She will happily eat her own meal, pick over her (older, fussier eater) sisters leftovers and then stare down every adult at the table who still has food on their plate to try and make them share and if they don't then they better be out of reaching distance of her highchair because otherwise she will just grab what she wants off your plate on a regular basis.

We actually had my DB, SIL and their kids round for Sunday dinner today and DN2 ate pretty much all of her roast dinner (child portion but still a bit of everything), had ice cream for pudding and then still wanted a bag of crisps mostly because they're the only snack in a cupboard she can access about an hour later.

Well shockingly I've also had a child who wouldn't have eaten at 7 as much as his brother did at 2

Not that it matters, maybe ops toddle is a good eater or maybe op and her dh wanted to go out for Sunday lunch and eat their food without sharing it

I’ve met plenty. Aside from my own family I have close to twenty nieces and nephews. I have multiple god children. I’ve seen ones whose jaws never stop to those who eat only rice cakes and peanut butter. Your portion of a dinner at home is not a child’s roast at a restaurant which has to feed a child up to what 10 or 12??

😆 10 or 12 year olds eating child's portions in restaurants, yeah OK then

There’s a theme with your posts, over eating 😂

There's a theme with your posts all over mn, argumentative for no reason.

My 11 year olds taller than me , you think he's going out eating a child's portion in a restaurant 🤣

I call bullshit, if you have that many nieces and nephews that you actually eat with then you'd have more of a clue

I have six siblings. It’s really not that many nieces and nephews in the scheme of things.

Well unless they are all toddlers you should have a better idea of how tall some pre teens are and how many of them aren't eating children's meals when out.

Oldest close to 30, youngest a baby. Absolutely. Most 11 year olds aren’t taller than their mothers though. Your son is obviously taller than most. So the average obvs far below that.

So 3 of my 4 children have been taller than me by 11/12, the youngest is 10 and not looking like he will be though . I'm fairly tall at 5"7 and in my 28 years of being a parent it's certainly not been unusual for children, even the girls to be taller than their mums by the end of primary

Maybe your family are just really short

Not particularly 🤷‍♀️I am but I’m the smallest by some way. Very tall 11 year old at 5 ft 7

I think hospitality staff get sick of demanding, time consuming 'small' requests from customers. I worked at a hotel for a while and the amount of demands from customers was ridiculous. Everyone thought their request was 'small' but when you're rushed off your feet it's not a small request at all!

He may be tall but he's certainly not the tallest in his year, there's quite a few girls and boys who are taller than him .

I think you were a bit unreasonable not to consider your options first.

You were asking her to approach the dish washing staff and essentially ask a favour. You don't know how big a favour that might have been. You don't know if that might have been difficult for her or on what levels. You also don't know how the washing operation works in the back of house, whether she clears tables and dumps the plates and cutlery on a trolley, and someone else brings it miles away to the sink.

Agree with @UnsolicitedOpinions

I think it was a bit cheeky of you to ask tbh.