Controversial issue Bonn Café bans diaper-changing parents

BONN · Parents are banned from a café after changing a diaper in the restaurant. They are angry but the café owner cites hygiene and the well-being of other guests as critical.

A 36-year-old mother is furious, “We are actually banned from a Bonn Café, only because we changed our son’s diapers,” she told General Anzeiger. She and her nine-month-old son, along with her husband visited the café just as they do every Sunday after church. They meet there regularly with friends. “We had been out for awhile so I wanted to put on a fresh diaper,” said the mother.

Because there was no changing table, she put down a cloth on a bench in the café and changed her son’s diaper. She notes, “There were really no more guests there, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. The place has no changing table. What else could I do?” When the family went to pay the bill, they were told they were no longer welcome there.

Responding to an inquiry from GA, the owner of the café paints a different picture. “Guests had already complained to us, some had already left because of that,” she said. Weeks before that, the mother had changed the diaper and breast fed multiple times. “We never said anything but when guests complain, then we have to do something. Would you like to see that when you are eating your cake?” commented the owner. “We have very high standards of hygiene and we are obligated to maintain these standards. It doesn’t work to have diapers changed directly next to food.”

“Noise from kids and gastronomy, this is always a thorny topic,” says Christoph Becker, head of tourism network Dehoga. “We can’t give any general recommendations for how a gastronomer should conduct themselves,” he comments. He has understanding for the café owner stepping in to do something when guests feel disturbed. “Often, it’s enough to just have a conversation with the parents,” says Becker. As well, there is no law saying restaurants must have a changing table in the restrooms. “Perhaps they could have done it in the stroller, somewhat removed from the area,” suggests Becker.

Mohamed Boudich, regional head of the Food, Beverage and Restaurant Union, has a different take. “Kids belong to our society and therefore also in public. In these days, a modern restaurant should provide such a possibility. This isn’t an extra service, it should be a normal part of what they offer,” he finds.

For the mother, the café ban is more than an annoyance. “I am shocked. The ban is really a deep cut into our social life. We have been pushed out from a part of the public space,” she laments. The parents have already contacted city authorities responsible for children and youth.

In 2015, a mother complained that she was “politely but firmly asked” to leave a different café after breast feeding her 4-month-old daughter. The owner also pointed out that guests had complained that they felt disturbed.

(Orig. text: Gabriele Immenkeppel)

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