A single mother has sparked debate after complaining about a restaurant that kicked her out because her toddler wouldn’t stay in his seat.
Adelaide woman Renèe Barendregt went to Lemongrass Thai on Main Beach with her son, Ziggy, and her mother while on holidays on the Gold Coast last week.
She claimed staff warned her she would have to ensure her child stayed in his seat despite no high chair being available.
However, during the first round of drinks, her son left the table to visit a nearby couple eating with their young baby.
‘He started playing with the pot plant – a fake pot plant,’ she said in a TikTok video.
‘He wasn’t doing anything wrong; he was just minding his own business, not pulling it apart or anything.’
Ms Barendregt said there were only about six other people in the venue as they had gone to eat at 5.30pm.
‘(Staff) came over to me, and they said, “Could you please put your child in the seat? If he can’t sit down the whole time, I’m going to have to ask you to leave”,’ she said.
An Adelaide mother said she was asked to leave a restaurant because she couldn’t keep her son in his chair
‘I said, “Well, you haven’t given us a high chair. He is not doing anything wrong. He is not harming anything. He will sit and eat dinner when it comes.”
‘The staff said, “Sorry. If he’s not going to sit there the whole time, I’m not going to serve you here”.’
The mother returned to her hotel room and ordered food via a delivery app instead.
‘Maybe (the staff) would have thought twice if he knew I had been waiting for (Ziggy) to wake up so we could go out for dinner as a family, just us two and my mum,’ Ms Barendregt said through tears.
Social media users were divided with many saying they agreed with restaurant staff.
‘(Some parents) really think that “it takes a village” means “everyone must keep an eye on my kid except me while I have a drink”,’ one said.
‘Parents like this make the rest of us look so bad,’ another added.
‘Kids are allowed to exist in public spaces, but we as parents need to show them how to respect public spaces. She can have him sit down or leave,’ another said.
The restaurant said the child had posed a hazard as it got increasingly busy with customers
Others defended the mother, arguing the restaurant should have been more patient.
‘These comments are wild. Children have the right to exist in the world and parents have the right to eat out just like every other paying customer,’ one argued.
The video has raked in more than 1million views since it was uploaded last Monday.
The daughter of the restaurant owners, who released a statement on behalf of her parents because ‘English is not their first language’ said on Instagram they had been ‘overwhelmed’ by both negative and positive reviews.
‘Our restaurant typically does not have toddlers dining there,’ the post read.
‘Whilst (the adults were) consuming their drinks the child had wandered out of their seat and started to play with the plant, which was in arms reach, yes, however, it is also located near the entrance of the restaurant.
‘During this time we started getting busy with takeaways and customers walking in and out of the restaurant. Because of the location, it was a safety hazard.’
The restaurant claimed Ms Barendregt couldn’t control her son and elected to leave.
‘They stood up, drank their alcohol and left without paying,’ the post read.
Addressing the claim in a separate comment section Ms Barendregt asked: ‘Why would I pay for a drink I had one sip of?’
Ms Barendregt shared another TikTok video revealing she had been the target of ‘hate and harassment’ as a result.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Lemongrass Thai on Main Beach for comment.
