Open Letter to Restaurants About Dirty High Chairs!

 

What the H-E-double hockey sticks (hell) is up with restaurants that have dirty high chairs and booster seats? There's been countless times in the last 6 years since we’ve had kids, where we’ve encountered dirty high chairs and booster seats while dining out as a family. High chairs get my goat the most! 

And I’m not talking about little dives that look shady when you’re standing on the sidewalk looking in. I’m talking about many popular chain restaurants. Fast food ones and sit down ones, many of them! And it doesn’t matter what town or city it is, you can almost guarantee that you will experience this frequently when you eat out. If not, I want to know where you go and where you live, so I can move there too! :) 

Nor am I talking about a little scuff or some dirt on the bottom. I’m talking about grimy food left on top of the high chair tray. Greasy trays that would rival a slip on a banana peel, and that have barely been wiped down. Wiped down with, in all likely hood, a filthy cloth. Food stuck to the sides of the tray, on the back or front of the chair, and for those of you who serve cutlery on the tray, sometimes that doesn’t even look clean! Don't even get me started on the straps! Some even have the gall to nicely place Saran wrap over top of the tray to make it look like it’s been sanitized and that they are making sure it’s clean for their customer’s children. Only to find out when you go to put your baby in it, that it’s still dirty!  

Now, you can visit people within their homes sometimes and their high chairs are not that clean either. We have been guilty of that a few times too on a busy day when we’re in a rush. But we clean it later! And that is being used by the same child, and is kept up to the standards that that family sets for themselves. I’m talking about high chairs that could potentially be used by a number of children in any given day, eating a myriad of snacks, meals and beverages. Would you want to eat off of some other unknown person’s plate that was only wiped down by a dingy cloth before being served to you? I’m not a microbiologist, but I sure wouldn’t! No siree Bob as the saying goes! I don’t want any of my infants or children (or any children for that matter), having to sit in a dirty high chair and eat off a dirty tray.  That is just N-A-S-T-Y! Nasty I say! It’s unhealthy, unsightly and makes me wonder… 

How can a restaurant possibly think, even for a second, that this does not reflect on their establishment? That if you can’t keep a high chair tray clean, never mind the sides, footrest, etc, then what does your kitchen look like? Is the cutting board you’re cutting our veggies or fruit on actually clean? Did you just use it to chop up some chicken too? And what about your line cook, chef etc… Did they wash their hands when they just went number two in the washroom?  

Owners, managers, and front line staff need to make this a priority throughout their shift. Dirty high chairs and booster seats are unacceptable! The high chair companies who make portable ones must love you! And I love them, for making me a product that I can take with me so that I don’t have to expose my baby to this, if I actually wanted to stay and eat as planned in your restaurant.  BUT when you see me or anyone else get up and walk out after I’ve just been seated and wonder why, please consider for a moment that your high chair or booster seat looks like you’ve freshly plucked it out of your Dumpster! And if you see me or anyone else taking a picture of it, check for that picture online. It’s time to boycott restaurants that don’t care about the health and safety of children.   

***** These views are mine, and mine alone. As with anything, you are responsible for assessing whether this item and/or activity is safe and suitable for your specific needs. InfoMommy does not make any warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, and assumes no responsibility and/or liability for any actions taken as a result of this blog post.*****