Australian mother furious after crying toddler’s family had to leave cafe, but thousands defend company: ‘Your child is a brat’

An Australian mother is outraged after seeing a family of four evicted from a cafe for ‘crying children’

Laura Edwards watched in horror as management at Adele’s Café on Magnetic Island threatened to call the police if the family did not leave.

Speaking to FEMAIL, she said the parents had tried to calm their two- and three-year-old children.

“It’s sad and shows that we still have a long way to go before children are seen and not heard and how to understand the research into children’s brain development,” she said.

“He could have asked them if they needed help, or asked one of the parents to take the crying toddlers for a walk, but he just kicked them out,” she said.

According to the owner of the establishment, Adrian Dalloste, the family’s two children had thrown a tantrum because they had to share one scoop of gelato.

“The older child showed his dissatisfaction by cleaning out our shelf with all our shells and items on the counter,” he told FEMAIL.

“Then he picked up one of the metal flasks and threw it on the tiles. I was surprised that the tiles didn’t break.

‘My employee looked at me asking ‘what should we do’ and I waved my hands like it would take more than a minute – but they didn’t leave, they sat at a table outside.’

He said the tantrum lasted 15 minutes before he went outside to ask the family to leave.

‘The mother seemed shocked. The father told me it was a bad thing and I told him, it’s not bad parenting,” he said.

‘This is the first time in eight and a half years that I have had to ask someone to leave. I hate to do it, but it was loud, the oldest was absolutely screaming.”

He also admitted he was confused when Mrs Edwards stepped in to defend the family because the issue was ‘none of her business’.

‘She came in and told us we were disgusting, but she was on the other side and hadn’t seen it. She then posted a video on social media telling people not to come to us.”

But Ms Edwards disagreed, saying as a concerned onlooker she had the right to act to defend the family.

“I think sometimes when you have kids you’re looked down upon, especially when they have tantrums and stuff, but their brains aren’t fully developed at that age and they need help to process those emotions,” she said.

Cafe owner Adrian Dalloste said the family’s two children threw a tantrum after having to share one scoop of gelato

She added that as a mother of three, her children have also kicked off in public, admitting they were often louder than the kids crying over ice cream.

‘I was sitting outside at the time of the tantrum and didn’t hear them. The doors are open all the time – and I thought I would hear screaming and kids throwing things. All I heard was the owner kicking them out.”

Ms Edward’s strong stance against the cafe – calling for a boycott of the business – proved she was in the minority.

Thousands of people criticized the mother, telling her to ‘mind her own business’, or saying the manger’s actions would make them more likely to choose the cafe.

‘Good for the entrepreneur, I would have done exactly the same. He has a duty to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience. “I have children and if they were little, out of respect for others, I would pack up and leave,” one woman said.

Another boldly declared: ‘In a few years they will be stealing cars in Townsville. Stay off our island.’

She told FEMAIL she heard the young people crying but there was no big tantrum – the loudest voice was the owner asking them to leave

“Responsible parents should have taught their children how to behave and show respect for others, or make sure they don’t annoy others,” a third added.

Others said they “wish more places would kick out the shitty kids.”

Dozens claimed to have had great service from the cafe in the past.

‘Nice man! We were there yesterday with a lot of kids and he was so nice to all of us. Great customer service and we couldn’t have had a better experience,” said another.

Ms Edwards said she was shocked by the response to her complaint – and said it was disappointing to see people agreeing with ‘treating families and children in that way’.

She added that the children’s father was kind and told the cafe owners to “enjoy the rest of their shift” as he left.

Mr Dalloste said his wife became concerned when the video went online and was picked up by the media, but the response was largely positive.

He said people had also called him and offered help.

“Business was good, the day after it all happened we had double sales,” he said.