Irish cafe proposes charging for screaming children

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Are you bothered by noisy children on trains or planes? Do you find them annoying as you sip a latte in a cafe?

A cafe in Ireland has the solution. The White Moose Cafe in Dublin proposed applying a "screaming child tax" to the bill on its Facebook page on May 5.

Screenshot of the White Moose Cafe Facebook page. /CGTN Photo

In the post pictured above, cafe owner Paul Stenson said that the decision is made “for the benefit of both staff and customers.”

Even though Stenson said that the proposal was supposed to be ironic, the announcement has provoked backlash online -- many have expressed support while others said the policy is “disgraceful.”

Meanwhile, the Facebook post received over 1,400 comments and 6,600 likes in the past five days.

Comments under the White Moose Cafe's post. /CGTN Photo

Jaime Canavan from Michigan commented: “This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever read.” And Lindsay Kadi from London left five “yeses” in her comment.

However, some parents are also mad about the policy. Ryan Lennon from Newcastle, U.K., said, “Hope your business burns to the ground.”

There are also others questioning if behaved children should be given rewards instead? And what if the parents refuse to pay?

On China's Twitter-equivalent Weibo, netizens welcomed the proposal and even suggested applying a similar policy on other occasions.

“Support it! They should be charged as they did not educate children well. But the extra fee can be used to buy food for homeless people,” user @momo says on Weibo.

Comments of user @FC_Chaojimiao on Weibo. /CGTN Photo

“Please apply the same policy in the train and flight system!” user @FC_Chaojimiao recommended.

Later on Sunday, Stenson clarified on his own Facebook page that the cafe's post was “satirical."

“Disgusting. Appalling. Disgraceful. These are all words used to describe a satirical post I made yesterday about taxing screaming children,” Stenson said. "10 years ago people would have laughed at that post and moved on with their lives, but not today.”

Disturbing noisy children in public spaces has been a trending topic in China for a while. During the Spring Festival, one of the country's busiest travel times of the year, many netizens suggested each train should leave space for a children's carriage.

On the flight from eastern China's Ningbo city to western city Xi'an in September 2017, a one-year-old girl Wendy and her mother earned praise for their considerate behavior. Passengers sitting around Wendy received a small gift package from her mother before the flight took off — it had a pair of ear plugs and candies.

Wendy left a note in the gift package. /Ningbo Evening News

The note written in Wendy's tone: “My mother is worried I will disturb others resting. I will try to keep quiet. Hope you have a nice trip.”

Do you support the idea of charging a "screaming children tax"? Would you like to pay for being “noisy”?