Changing a baby’s nappy on a café table has become the latest topic to divide opinion after one North Devon café owner shared his thoughts in a candid online video.
Jonathan, from The Coffee Mill – Lynmouth’s Garden Café, said he believed parents should avoid changing nappies on tables where people eat, arguing there were more suitable places available.
Speaking in the video, Jonathan acknowledged that parents sometimes have little choice but questioned whether a café table was ever the right place.
He said: “I suppose when you’ve got to change, you’ve got to change. But there must be other places you can change your baby’s nappy.”
Jonathan recalled changing his own son’s nappy in unusual circumstances while travelling.
“I remember changing our Ted’s nappy on the floor of a forest in Australia and he seems to be perfectly okay. Well, apart from the fact he bought a Volvo at 26, but other than that he’s okay,” he joked.
He also described a hypothetical situation in which another family could unknowingly sit at a table where a baby had been changed, particularly if there had been a leak from the nappy.
Jonathan suggested staff could then be left having to thoroughly clean the table before it could be used again.
He concluded by inviting others to share their opinions on the issue.
“Let me know what you think about changing a baby’s nappy on a café table. Frankly, I’m not in favour.”
The comments have prompted discussion over hygiene in cafés and whether parents should use designated baby-changing facilities wherever possible.
