A YARRAWONGA mother-of-three is “spitting mad” after the owner of a local cafe asked her to control her child.

Lacey Barratt took her two-year-old child to meet a friend for lunch at Finlays Joint Cafe at Palmerston on Monday.

Ms Barratt said her son was making an “annoying squeal”. The owner of the cafe, Denise Jenkins, then asked her to take responsibility for the child.

The two women agree on much of what happened. But they are both adamant they are in the right.

“I feel just as spitting mad as I was (when it happened)” Ms Barratt said..

“I stated I could control him just as much as (Ms Jenkins) could. She then followed my comment with: ‘That’s not my problem’. He wasn’t even squealing at this stage, rather tapping on my hip asking ‘mum are you okay?’

“I told her I’d be happy to cancel my order and have a refund if he was such a problem.”

Ms Jenkins said she gave the mother a refund and stands by her decision.

“Whenever I deal with it, it’s always taken as a personal insult,” Ms Jenkins said.

“Everyone understands that children are small but there’s also a responsibility for parents, and there’s reciprocal responsibilities in the service industry.”

Ms Jenkins said her cafe does not have a “child free” policy.

“I fully understand that parents wish to socialise, however I have a reciprocal responsibility commitment that ensures the comfort and safety of all my customers and staff and I require a reasonable degree of parental supervision for small children.

“I appreciate that children can be a handful and a simple attempt to calm down her child would have solved any angst caused in this situation.”

Ms Barratt, however, will be protesting with her feet.

“Never again will I put my children in a position where they are an annoyance or a burden on someone else,” she said.

“I urge other mums not to put their children in the same position where they may feel less than their worth.”