Mum unleashes on fellow parents for ‘low-class bogan behaviour’ at cafe

A mum has let loose on fellow parents who do this at a cafe — and she’s not alone in her furious rant about the “bogan” act.

A mum from Queensland has unleashed on a bunch of ‘bogan’ kids who destroyed a ‘beautiful’ handbuilt play area at her local cafe, calling out the parents for not stepping in.

Millie, from Townsville, posted a video to TikTok about her local hangout, Sirens Bayside cafe. Millie, who often goes to the cafe with her own children, was horrified when she learned the play area had been damaged and temporarily shut down by the cafe’s owner due to the actions of some tiny patrons.

The kids playground at Sirens Bayside in Townsville before it was "trashed".

The kids play area is a popular spot for parents in the Townsville area.

“Just quietly, if you take your kids to a cafe that has a playground and then you think that’s automatic permission to let your kids run feral and trash the place you should not be taking your kids to there,” Millie said in the video, taking aim at the parents who reportedly stood by and didn’t intervene.

@itsjustmilliee If we want small businesses to create nice spaces for families then we need to be respectful of these spaces. Wanting to enjoy a hot coffee is a universal parenting struggle - but it’s not an excuse to ignore your children. EDIT: I mispoke and said Sirens By the Bay - the cafe is called Sirens Bayside. Ill put a link to their instagram below. Please consider supporting this amazing local business! https://www.instagram.com/sirensbayside?igsh=MXc0bWFwdDBrbzAzYw== #townsville #townsvillesmallbusiness #townsvillemums #mums #cafe #townsvilleshines #mumsoftiktok #mumlife ♬ original sound - itsjustmilliee

In an interview withYahoo News, the owner of the cafe — Natalie Giofre — revealed she was forced to remove the play area she and her partner had built by hand because it had been “trashed”.

“The door had been ripped off the cubby house, it was all jagged and nails were hanging out,” she told the publication.

Sirens Bayside cafe Natalie Giofre said the door was ripped off the cubby and stones thrown at it.

Later on that same day, Ms Giofre said another mother stood by and let her child run amok by throwing rocks at and into the cubby house. The cafe owner said when she approached and addressed the behaviour with the mother of the child, the behaviour was dismissed.

“[The mother] was quite adamant and just said, ‘I’m not here to have to worry about what my kids are doing … if I have to worry about my kids breaking something or making a mess, then I’m just going to take them to the park’,” Ms Giofre relayed.

“We’re not running a daycare centre [and] we’re not here to make sure your kids are not trashing the yard or breaking things or misbehaving.”

Cafe owner Natalie Giofre said she was met with a very strange response when she approached the parents of the offending child.

Ms Giofre created the play area so more parents could come to her cafe.

As a result of the damage, patron Millie — who often visits the cafe — said the play corner had been removed.

“I’m hoping they repair it, and put it back,’ Millie said in her TikTok video.

“Everyone whinges that Townsville has no nice cafes or facilities, but then when a cafe owner goes out of their way to make their space nice this is what happens.

“Quite frankly it does not matter how expensive your activewear is, if you’re not going to parent your children then that’s just low-class bogan behaviour.”

On Saturday morning, news.com.au confirmed with Sirens Bayside that the play area had been fixed and re-opened for patrons to use.

“We put out a message on instagram asking everyone to please respect the area and make sure they supervise children,” the statement read.

“Also [for customers] to help us and call out any bad behaviou they see so that we can continue to provide the kids area for everyone to use.”

Townsville local Mollie, who often visits Sirens Bayside cafe with her children, was furious by the child and parent’s behaviour.

Mollie said it was “low-class bogan behaviour”.

Hundreds of comments agreed with Millie, suggesting parents should be step up and take responsibility for their children.

“Why do parents think it’s okay to not actively supervise their children in a play area – blows my mind,” one wrote.

“I was at the pub the other day and kids were climbing on a single standing umbrella, my back was facing them & if my dad didn’t catch it, it would have gone through my head … The parents said nothing,” another added.

“I work at a cafe with a little play area, we had a mini cafe. I bought heaps of little wooden food toys, all of them were destroyed/stolen within 2 weeks,” another fumed.

“The amount of times I see parents dump kids at the play centre part of a cafe or rsl and leave is insane,” another added.

Ms Giofre said the play area provided a safe, enjoyable area for kids.

Ms Giofre said majority of customers do the right thing and treat the play area with respect.

Ms Giofre said that while “98 per cent of customers are beautiful and do the right thing” — it’s the 2 per cent that ruin it for the rest of the cafe.

“For me, it’s the parents’ responsibility to supervise their kids and also to inform us when something does happen so we can come out and fix it,” she told Yahoo 7.

“At the moment, my staff are having to supervise other people’s children. We’re here to provide coffee and food and great service, we’re not running a daycare centre.

“We’re not here to make sure your kids are not trashing the yard or breaking things or misbehaving.”