Going out to eat at a restaurant can be a stressful ordeal for parents. We have to make sure our kids are on their best behavior. We don’t want to upset the staff or the other people who are dining. But sometimes things are out of our control and we’re left to just make the best of it and apologize when necessary.
One of the more challenging disasters that can happen with kids at the restaurant is them getting sick while there. We’ve got all the eyes on us as we scramble to clean up the mess they’ve made. Super aware of how we’re ruining other’s appetites and making the workday horrible for the wait staff. It sucks, and that’s why we don’t take our kids out when their stomachs are questionable.
Well, we’d think that anyway. But according to one waitress, she came across a family that didn’t seem to mind when kids, iffy stomachs, and restaurants collide.
The waitress took to Reddit to get advice after something strange happened at work.
Posting in Reddit’s AITA community, the original poster gave some backstory on a family she’s seen several times at the restaurant.
She explained that as a waitress, she has a “semi regular family that comes in every once in a while.” The family has a few kids, but her story centers on the youngest kid in their family.
They always order the same thing for their youngest child.
“Every time they come in they order their youngest child Mac and cheese,” OP explained. And she remembers this because something happens every single time they do.
“The first time I served them, the child threw up all over the booth,” she wrote. That embarrassing situation happens from time to time. It sucks, but that’s life.
“I didn’t think much of it, just that he was sick or had an upset stomach,” OP admitted. “I clean up the booth.”
The next time the family came in, disaster struck again.
“The next time was the same thing,” she wrote. “Mac and cheese then puke. Again in the booth and on the table.”
OP said it “is an every time occurrence, the kid orders Mac end cheese then throws up.” She noted: “The kid never gets to the bathroom, and most the time he doesn’t even make an attempt to leave the table. I believe once he started walking to the bathroom.”
Recently, OP saw the family come in again.
She gave an account of the family’s visit: “This most recent time they came in and I was their waitress the child went to order Mac and cheese again, and I asked the mom, ‘Is he okay to have that? He gets sick every time….’”
The mom knew that he would get sick, replying, “Oh yah Kraft Mac and Cheese makes him sick, but he wants it.”
OP said she didn’t think it would be wise to order that for her child “if you know he’s going to puke from eating it.”
Adding, “And quite frankly I really don’t want to have to clean up vomit tonight.”
Seems reasonable — but not to the child’s mom.
“The mom threw a bit of a fit,” OP explained. She then asked the mom, “‘Why are you allowing your child to order a food that makes him sick, just to have someone else clean it up.'”
The manager of the restaurant heard the disagreement. “And the manager had came over and was agreeing with me, she ordered him chicken tenders and fries instead,” OP wrote.
But now she’s not so sure she did the right thing.
“Was I in the wrong for not wanting/allowing him to order the Mac and cheese that makes him sick? I’ve shared this story with a few people and I’ve had some mixed reactions.”
OP then turned things over to Reddit to ask if she was the one in the wrong.
“NTA I have never heard of such a ridiculous thing,” someone chimed in. “I can guarantee the mother isn’t giving her child mac n cheese at home. But since she doesn’t have to clean up the mess she doesn’t care. What confuses me the most is that the mom knows that the Mac n cheese makes him sick and still let’s him eat it. They sounds like bad parenting.”
“NTA if this has happened regularly,” another answered. “I can’t even fault you for the phrasing being rude because honestly they might need a little rude to wake them up. And yeah that your manager supported you.”
“NTA- what is wrong with this lady?” wondered someone else. “This kid obviously cannot tolerate it. Honestly, I’m a mom myself. I would have been mortified if my kid vomited in a restaurant. I know things happen, but to let this happen multiple times and think it’s not a big deal is beyond me.”
“NTA cleaning vomit is super dangerous to begin with and the parent acting like it’s no different than spilled water is insane,” another wrote. “You’re saving that poor kid a whole lot of pain.”
“NTA,” someone else commented. “Obviously things happen and serving staff end up cleaning up puke sometimes, but the fact that she knows her kid will puke and is a) still allowing her kid to eat it and b)just leaving it for you instead of bringing a barf bag or ordering it to go is completely unacceptable.”