Mum shuns cafe in row over baby

A Tauranga mum has vowed not to return to a Mount Maunganui cafe after being asked to take her crying baby outside.

The incident has reignited debate over children in cafes, after Courtney Pope tried to calm her upset 4-month-old son Rex at Providores Urban Food Store on Sunday.

It comes a year after the cafe made headlines for asking a family to remove their baby because of her noise. This was the most popular story on this website in 2012.

Ms Pope said Rex rarely cried but he was hungry and tired at the time, and became spooked as she and her friends had brunch.

"I didn't even get the chance to settle him when the lady came over."

Ms Pope said she felt the woman, cafe co-owner Andy John, drew unnecessary attention to the situation by asking her to go outside.

"It was really uncomfortable. I was trying to breastfeed him and everyone turned around to watch," she said.

Ms Pope said she did not want to go outside, where it was hot and there were people smoking.

"If she had just given him a moment, he would have stopped crying."

The group, having already eaten, left and went to a park after spending about $90 at the cafe, she said.

Ms Pope said the crying lasted about two minutes and other customers, who left at the same time, told her they did not have a problem with her baby.

Ms Pope said she would not return to the cafe.

Providores co-owner Robin Feron made no apologies for the incident.

Customers had remarked to staff at the till that the baby should be taken outside "and we had to do something".

"We were full that day. We had vats going out the back and I was out in the kitchen, and above all that noise I could hear it screaming out there."

Mr Feron, who has been in the cafe industry for about 30 years, said the crying continued for a long time.

"I don't know if it was 10 minutes but it kept going. Even if it was five or three minutes, three minutes is a long time of crying.

"What do you do?

"The baby was crying and crying. She [Ms Pope] tried to do something and it wasn't working and it kept crying."

Ms John, who has a background working in childcare, said she normally offered restless children chocolate fish but, because the baby was so young, she was not sure what to offer and suggested outside as an option.

Mr Feron said people would always be offended when approached about noisy children "but we had to look after our other customers".

The matter would never have become an issue if Ms Pope had just taken her child outside to settle in the first place, he said.

"If you take offence, how about all the people around you taking offence?"

Mr Feron disputed the suggestion the cafe was unfriendly towards children. "We have tonnes of kids in here and 99.9 per cent of people are great."

Child psychotherapist Augustina Driessen said the baby was probably over-stimulated or over-tired and cafes could be overwhelming for them.

"I feel the mother needed to take the initiative and go somewhere quiet. The baby cried because he has a need. This is the only way they can let their mother know.

"I can't blame the cafe owners. After all, it's a business and they can see if other people are annoyed."

Alan Sciascia, the Bay of Plenty regional manager for Hospitality New Zealand, said cafe owners were within their rights to admit or turn away who they chose, provided they did not breach human rights.

"It's really up to the cafe owner to determine how they want their business to be presented to the public," he said.