When we witness unusual encounters with mothers, we sometimes wonder why some leave a mess in public toilets. A few fellow mums defend them, claiming they left in a rush to avoid embarrassment.
Unfortunately, other mums often express their disappointment with mothers who fail to clean up after their kids. On the other hand, we can only imagine what the cleaning employees have to say in these situations.
Recently, a person on Reddit shared a similar experience while dining at a restaurant. The diner recounted her disdain after witnessing a washing her kid’s poop.
In this article you’ll read:
- Witnessing a Mum With Toddler Leave a Mess in Public Toilet
- Cleaning Up After a Mum and Toddler Poop Situation
- Possible Reasons Why Some Mums Leave a Mess in Public Toilets
Witnessing a Mum With Toddler Leave a Mess in Public Toilet
In a recent post from r/singapore, a Redditor recalled her encounter with a mum while dining at a restaurant. When she opened the door to the restaurant’s toilet, she witnessed a mum washing her toddler’s butt.
If we were in their shoes, we would first probably wonder why she left the door unlocked. Toddler poop emergencies like this often make most mums lock public toilets.
Most public toilets offer private cubicles with a common area for sinks; others feature individual rooms. Based on the witness’ story, we believe the restaurant she mentioned offered the former.
After witnessing the mum’s situation, the Redditor continued with her business in the toilet. She then checked the sink and left the toilet with a new conviction.
“[I] got a glimpse of the sink, unfortunately, and there was actual poop in there,” said the diner.
The Redditor left the toilet disgusted and enraged. She then confronted the mum and expressed further frustration when the mum feigned ignorance. The woman also told the diner that her confrontation is a form of harassment.
“She likened it to vomit, and then kept repeating it was harassment,” recalled the Redditor.
Image Source: iStock
Moreover, the mum insisted that the mess she left should be handled by cleaners. This sparked further outrage from the Redditor and the people commenting on the post.
A commenter stated, “Being a parent to toddlers is tough but [that’s] no excuse for leaving a mess for someone else to clean up.”
Cleaning Up After a Mum and Toddler Poop Situation
After reading the recent Reddit post, I recalled an experience while working in the food and beverage industry. During my brief stint as a barista, I encountered a mum who left a mess in the public toilet of my old workplace.
At that time, I got assigned to work during the morning shift. For this shift, employees are expected to open the café in the early morning. Because of this, we expected most customers to rush off after grabbing their morning coffee.
Image Source: iStock
Once we opened the store, we met our regular customers and prepared their usual coffee. After the morning coffee rush, a mum entered the café with a toddler. The two immediately ran to the toilet without ordering anything from the counter. My colleagues and I didn’t think much of it because most customers who rush to the toilet just order afterwards.
However, when the mum and child left hurriedly, they barely glanced at the people working at the counter. This prompted our attending manager to check the area they rushed to. She then called for me to help her clean the mess in the public toilets of the establishment.
My Reaction to The Situation
I still remember my first reaction to the smell and mess of the public toilets that morning. I angrily huffed to the cleaning cabinet and grabbed all my tools. My colleagues and I worked together to wash and wipe away all the poop stains. The fact that we left the public toilets in an almost pristine condition in the morning fueled my rage.
After calming myself down, I found myself wondering why the mum left a mess in the public toilet. Our manager tried to appease us by assuming that the mum was probably embarrassed. Regardless of the real reason, I sucked up my anger and continued to work until the end of my shift. Throughout my time working there, I never encountered the mum and toddler again.
Possible Reasons Why Some Mums Leave a Mess in Public Toilets
Image Source: iStock
When I told my story to parents, they usually expressed their disappointment with the mum. Likewise, most of the comments on the Reddit post showed the disdain of netizens. The negative reactions are understandable because we would hate to be the cleaners who washed up the mess the mums left behind.
However, we need to refrain from shaming the decision of the mums. We don’t know what they went through to end up leaving the mess in public toilets. Some of them probably struggle with taking care of their toddlers. Others might also be clueless when it comes to cleaning public toilet areas.
Moreover, some of these establishments don’t offer access to soap or tissues. Because of this, most people just leave a mess in public toilets and let the cleaners do their job.
With that said, we encourage people to remember to appreciate the cleaners of public toilet areas. They bear with the stench and mess to provide cleaner toilets to those who need them.
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