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King Sheep
Forum Thread
Mom pushes Applebee's on breast-feeding
August 30, 2007 at
10:13 AM
Original article from Lexington Herald Leader [kentucky.com]
Mom pushes Applebee's on breast-feeding
WANTS CHANGE IN POLICY AFTER BEING TOLD TO COVER HERSELF
By Linda B. Blackford
[email protected]
Brooke Ryan nursed her 10-month-old son, Michael, at her home. She says her goal is to teach, not to be provocative. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
David Stephenson | Staff
Brooke Ryan nursed her 10-month-old son, Michael, at her home. She says her goal is to teach, not to be provocative. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
In June, Brooke Ryan walked into a Nicholasville Road Applebee's restaurant to celebrate an anniversary lunch with her children.
She walked out humiliated, in tears and without the lunch.
But the incident over breast-feeding her 7-month-old son at Applebee's has spurred the soft-spoken 34-year-old to start a public awareness campaign on the rights of breast-feeding women in Kentucky.
"On a small scale, I want Applebee's to change its policy," Ryan said. "On a large scale ... I want breast-feeding to be accepted."
The dispute with Applebee's began June 14. Ryan chose a booth in the back of the restaurant away from other customers. When her baby, Michael, got hungry, she began to nurse him discreetly, she said.
But a waitress came over and said that if she wanted to breast-feed, she had to cover the baby with a blanket. Ryan said it was so hot that she didn't have a blanket. The waitress then repeated her request. Ryan said she then asked to see the manager and handed him a copy of the 2006 Kentucky law that prohibits interference with a woman breast-feeding her baby in public.
The manager said he knew about the law but a customer had complained about indecent exposure, so she had to cover the baby with a blanket.
Ryan left as her food came, to nurse her baby in the car.
Her lawyer wrote a letter to Thomas & King, the company that operates Applebee's in Central Kentucky. They got no response. After a second letter, a Thomas & King lawyer said the restaurant chain would consider keeping blankets in the restaurant so that breast-feeding women could cover themselves.
"That's like telling Rosa Parks she still had to sit in the back of the bus, but we'll give her a blanket to make her more comfortable," Ryan said.
When contacted yesterday, Mike Scanlon, president of Thomas & King, said he didn't know about the incident. However, he called the Herald-Leader back to say that Applebee's had no policy against breast-feeding.
"It is perfectly legal to breast-feed in public and we support that," Scanlon said. "I'm not sure the manager said cover the baby's head, I think he said cover yourself modestly. This was by no means intended as interference, but a request to do it modestly, which I believe is an appropriate response."
Ryan says that as an experienced breast-feeder, she is extremely modest, and, in that instance, made sure that she was facing into the corner.
"Some women think it's fine to cover up with a blanket, but a woman shouldn't be forced to," said her husband, Michael Ryan.
Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, who sponsored the breast-feeding protection bill, agrees.
"She was not treated right under the new law," he said. "There should have been no comment made to her at all; the restaurant overstepped its boundaries. There's no way they can explain their way out of this."
Thirty-nine states, including Kentucky, allow women to breast-feed in any public or private location.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breast-feeding for about the first six months and support for breast-feeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child. But according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 11 percent of mothers meet the six-month mark. Thirty percent breast-feed exclusively for the first three months. Kentucky's rates are 7.5 percent and 25 percent, respectively, according to a 2007 report.
Scanlon suggested that Ryan had an "agenda."
"I note with interest that she had a copy of the statute with her," he said. "I'm glad to let this become a matter that we can all learn from."
But if all Ryan wanted going into Applebee's was an anniversary lunch, she may indeed have an agenda now.
August is World Breast-feeding Awareness Month, and Ryan has organized two related public events:
• A "Nurse-In" at the children's play area at Fayette Mall from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Ryan says the mall is not a target, but has a place for kids to play.
• From noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 8, she is holding a "Nurse Out" with posters and breast-feeding in front of the Applebee's on Nicholasville Road.
She's also asking for a public apology from Applebee's and training for its employees about the rights of breast-feeding mothers. Some day, she says, she would like to see the international breast-feeding symbol of a mother and child in every restaurant that supports the practice.
"I'm not trying to be provocative," she said. "I want to teach."
Read comments from Kentucky.com [prospero.com]
Read comments from Fark.com [fark.com]
Reach Linda Blackford at (859) 231-1359 or [email protected].
EDIT: Added Polling Goodness!
Mom pushes Applebee's on breast-feeding
WANTS CHANGE IN POLICY AFTER BEING TOLD TO COVER HERSELF
By Linda B. Blackford
[email protected]
Brooke Ryan nursed her 10-month-old son, Michael, at her home. She says her goal is to teach, not to be provocative. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
David Stephenson | Staff
Brooke Ryan nursed her 10-month-old son, Michael, at her home. She says her goal is to teach, not to be provocative. Photo by David Stephenson | Staff
In June, Brooke Ryan walked into a Nicholasville Road Applebee's restaurant to celebrate an anniversary lunch with her children.
She walked out humiliated, in tears and without the lunch.
But the incident over breast-feeding her 7-month-old son at Applebee's has spurred the soft-spoken 34-year-old to start a public awareness campaign on the rights of breast-feeding women in Kentucky.
"On a small scale, I want Applebee's to change its policy," Ryan said. "On a large scale ... I want breast-feeding to be accepted."
The dispute with Applebee's began June 14. Ryan chose a booth in the back of the restaurant away from other customers. When her baby, Michael, got hungry, she began to nurse him discreetly, she said.
But a waitress came over and said that if she wanted to breast-feed, she had to cover the baby with a blanket. Ryan said it was so hot that she didn't have a blanket. The waitress then repeated her request. Ryan said she then asked to see the manager and handed him a copy of the 2006 Kentucky law that prohibits interference with a woman breast-feeding her baby in public.
The manager said he knew about the law but a customer had complained about indecent exposure, so she had to cover the baby with a blanket.
Ryan left as her food came, to nurse her baby in the car.
Her lawyer wrote a letter to Thomas & King, the company that operates Applebee's in Central Kentucky. They got no response. After a second letter, a Thomas & King lawyer said the restaurant chain would consider keeping blankets in the restaurant so that breast-feeding women could cover themselves.
"That's like telling Rosa Parks she still had to sit in the back of the bus, but we'll give her a blanket to make her more comfortable," Ryan said.
When contacted yesterday, Mike Scanlon, president of Thomas & King, said he didn't know about the incident. However, he called the Herald-Leader back to say that Applebee's had no policy against breast-feeding.
"It is perfectly legal to breast-feed in public and we support that," Scanlon said. "I'm not sure the manager said cover the baby's head, I think he said cover yourself modestly. This was by no means intended as interference, but a request to do it modestly, which I believe is an appropriate response."
Ryan says that as an experienced breast-feeder, she is extremely modest, and, in that instance, made sure that she was facing into the corner.
"Some women think it's fine to cover up with a blanket, but a woman shouldn't be forced to," said her husband, Michael Ryan.
Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, who sponsored the breast-feeding protection bill, agrees.
"She was not treated right under the new law," he said. "There should have been no comment made to her at all; the restaurant overstepped its boundaries. There's no way they can explain their way out of this."
Thirty-nine states, including Kentucky, allow women to breast-feed in any public or private location.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breast-feeding for about the first six months and support for breast-feeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child. But according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 11 percent of mothers meet the six-month mark. Thirty percent breast-feed exclusively for the first three months. Kentucky's rates are 7.5 percent and 25 percent, respectively, according to a 2007 report.
Scanlon suggested that Ryan had an "agenda."
"I note with interest that she had a copy of the statute with her," he said. "I'm glad to let this become a matter that we can all learn from."
But if all Ryan wanted going into Applebee's was an anniversary lunch, she may indeed have an agenda now.
August is World Breast-feeding Awareness Month, and Ryan has organized two related public events:
• A "Nurse-In" at the children's play area at Fayette Mall from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. Ryan says the mall is not a target, but has a place for kids to play.
• From noon to 2 p.m. Sept. 8, she is holding a "Nurse Out" with posters and breast-feeding in front of the Applebee's on Nicholasville Road.
She's also asking for a public apology from Applebee's and training for its employees about the rights of breast-feeding mothers. Some day, she says, she would like to see the international breast-feeding symbol of a mother and child in every restaurant that supports the practice.
"I'm not trying to be provocative," she said. "I want to teach."
Read comments from Kentucky.com [prospero.com]
Read comments from Fark.com [fark.com]
Reach Linda Blackford at (859) 231-1359 or [email protected].
EDIT: Added Polling Goodness!
Community Wiki
Last Edited by JayVee7777
September 11, 2007
at
09:38 PM
MOST.BIASED.POLL.EVAH
hmmm, she prolly needed 2 or 3 blankets
http://media.heraldlea
hmmm, she prolly needed 2 or 3 blankets
http://media.heraldlea
525 Comments
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PS..We took the kids to Disney 2 weeks ago for the day and major points to them!!! They are very ok with breastfeeding in public..and for those of us that are not as open, they have great baby stations
How are you feeling?
How many of you would feel "offended" if you saw a person breast feeding in public? I'm not talking about being annoyed if the woman is on some sort of crusade or making a scene. I just mean..the simple act of breastfeeding in public..what do you do when you see it?
For me..I've seen it before and it really barely registers with me. I just go on with whatever I'm doing. If I'm eating..I'll be damned if some woman breastfeeding is going to take my attention away from cheese fries
PS..We took the kids to Disney 2 weeks ago for the day and major points to them!!! They are very ok with breastfeeding in public..and for those of us that are not as open, they have great baby stations
Is this that hard for ppl to comprehend?
How many of you would feel "offended" if you saw a person breast feeding in public? I'm not talking about being annoyed if the woman is on some sort of crusade or making a scene. I just mean..the simple act of breastfeeding in public..what do you do when you see it?
For me..I've seen it before and it really barely registers with me. I just go on with whatever I'm doing. If I'm eating..I'll be damned if some woman breastfeeding is going to take my attention away from cheese fries
Hence, I am sensitive to other ppl's opinions/feelings.
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This woman was completely out of line. No agenda my butt. She went in with no blanket but sure didn't forget to bring her pamphlet - it's like she was hoping for a confrontation. If she had conducted herself in a respectable manner to begin with there never would have been an issue - and mothers... how many of you pack a diaper bag and don't bring so much as a receiving blanket for burping? Think about it. I also agree with the poster who commented on Applebees' climate control - those places are usually on the cold side if anything, and if you're sitting under a vent God help you!
It's not about society's view on breasts, the fact that some people can't help but stare, the fact that exposing yourself is against some people's religious beliefs, or the fact that some children haven't learned about the birds and the bees yet. The bottom line is that there was no good reason for her not to exercise her rights as a breastfeeding mother in a respectable manner - aside from her own agenda. Breastfeed away, just exercise some restraint and common decency in your actions - the same expectation that is placed upon every single one of us in everything that we do.
Well said, Kristin.
How many of you would feel "offended" if you saw a person breast feeding in public? I'm not talking about being annoyed if the woman is on some sort of crusade or making a scene. I just mean..the simple act of breastfeeding in public..what do you do when you see it?
For me..I've seen it before and it really barely registers with me. I just go on with whatever I'm doing. If I'm eating..I'll be damned if some woman breastfeeding is going to take my attention away from cheese fries
I don't find it offensive. HOWEVER, I can understand it if other ppl who are eating in a restaurant may wish to have that woman cover-up. Personally, I wouldn't complain or even notice. But, I can still understand other ppl's point of view.
Hence, I am sensitive to other ppl's opinions/feelings.
***disclaimer..I could be wrong..so people..don't go jumping all over me
I'm still breastfeeding my almost 18 month old, but I have enough sense to do it in the car or something, because I know she's at the age where it's kind of inappropriate, since half the time she's drinking and the other half, she'll be looking around at other things. And I don't cover her, either, do you know how frickin' hot it gets around here?
I did breastfeed all the time in public, though, when she was younger. Thank goodness no one said anything to me ever, though. I got the occassional odd look, but no smart ass comment or removal from a restaurant.
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I'm still breastfeeding my almost 18 month old, but I have enough sense to do it in the car or something, because I know she's at the age where it's kind of inappropriate, since half the time she's drinking and the other half, she'll be looking around at other things. And I don't cover her, either, do you know how frickin' hot it gets around here?
I did breastfeed all the time in public, though, when she was younger. Thank goodness no one said anything to me ever, though. I got the occassional odd look, but no smart ass comment or removal from a restaurant.
My firstborn hated the bottle and binky, so I didn't even bother introducing them with my second. BFing is also a comfort thing, the smells and sights and sounds of a restaurant or other public place might inspire a baby to seek out a feeding, outside of the regular feedings (which aren't very regular anyway, especially when there's a growth spurt or teeth coming). My babies were also past six months before I even intro'd solids.
I've done the same, corner booth, back to the dining room, even had DH or friend "block" my side (if I'm dining with a group). During colder months, I even wear a nursing tank top under my shirt, so my sides and gut aren't even exposed. But even without the tank, shirt and baby are covering up pretty much everything. My experience: some people actually crane their necks or stand up to look. It's as if they want to be offended.
I'll admit, I'm selfish. I don't feel like carrying around bottles or clean binkies (which didn't work out for me anyway), and I don't feel like walking and carrying a fussy baby when I can just nurse for ten minutes and quiet the baby (and maybe lull the baby to sleep). BFing is soooo convenient.
I don't use blankets, but I am very discreet, and not because I worry about offending someone (I don't care), but I am afraid of ending up on some milkmaidsdotcom website (kids and their picture phones).