Mom from Marcy’s Diner: ‘I’ll never forget the look of fear on my baby’s face’

“Making national news was the last thing we expected on our quiet summer getaway to Maine this week.”

That was how Tara Carson opened her piece on the Washington Post telling her side of the story. As we’ve written about a few times on this blog now, Marcy’s Diner owner Darla Neugebauer made national news after snapping at the toddler crying in her restaurant — and her colorful reactions on Facebook and to the media afterward.

Carson says her family was visiting from out of state and chose Marcy’s because her husband had been there before:

We had stayed overnight in Portland, a place close to our hearts where my husband spent a lot of time in the Coast Guard. He suggested we grab breakfast at this diner he knew of. We figured it would have quick service and be family friendly.

She maintains that she didn’t think the baby was causing a disturbance, and if she thought that they were, they would have gladly taken the baby outside.

The reason why she didn’t, she says, is that her daughter wasn’t having a full tantrum, and they decided to stay in the booth instead of going outside in the rain.

Carson says that Neugebauer “threw to-go boxes” at them and asked them to leave. Because their food had arrived, they decided to eat quickly and leave. A few minutes later, Neugebauer yelled at the child to be quiet.

“I’ll never forget the look of fear on my baby’s face,” she wrote.

Her take on thousands of strangers commenting on her parenting skills:

What got lost is that it’s never okay to yell at a baby, especially if you own a restaurant. You should care about providing good service to their patrons. Neugebauer could have come over politely and told us our baby was disruptive. She should not have thrown things or yelled or cursed.

Read her whole story over at the Washington Post.

Did Carson’s words change your mind? Share your thoughts in the comments.