'The baby should be working too': Mom works at fast food restaurant while carrying infant, sparks debate about work and childcare

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Jan 22, 2024 12:00 PM EST

Unless you are very rich, holding down a full-time job while raising kids can seem like an impossible task. The price of childcare is extortionate, and a lot of parents can't afford to be unemployed if they want to keep everyone in the family healthy and happy. It can leave moms and dads feeling like they're between a rock and a hard place — as if parenting wasn't challenging enough already.

The WFH revolution led to many attempting a combination of childcare and work, with varying results. However, not everybody is in a role that allows for that luxury. This was brought starkly into focus by a recent Twitter post where a woman was shown working the cash register at a fast food restaurant while carrying a baby.

While the original poster denounced the photo as evidence of "a capitalist dystopian hellscape", others were a little less convinced. One thing's for sure, no parent should feel like this is something that they have to do.

 

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  • 01
    MC Squared @mcsquared34 Follow America is a capitalist dystopian hellscape. Childcare should be free for everyone. Service workers deserve a living wage and to be treated with dignity.
    via mcsquared34
  • 02
    DASAN Der Bion
    via mcsquared34
  • 03
    @amuse @amuse 11 Jan Replying to @mcsquared34 FWIW she's the store owner.
    via amuse
  • 04
    Inverse Cramer (... @CramerTracker Subscribe Replying to @mcsquared34 Smart. Getting those years of experience in early When they graduate college maybe they'll qualify for an entry level role
    via CramerTracker
  • 05
    Compound24 Compound248 @compound248 Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 Almost certainly the business owner.
    via compound248
  • 06
    Tyler Hervey @Tydoo71112 Jan Replying to @mcsquared34 survival of the fittest up in this bish
    via Tydoo711
  • 07
    More my speed @moremyspeed Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 Taking pictures of people at their place of work without consent is dystopian, champ.
    via moremyspeed
  • 08
    Hunter (Let's hop... @huntercoldcalls. Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 I encourage all the employees at my call centers to bring their children in to work Most children are capable of making cold calls (as long as they can read the script) and most customers are eager to hear out a child when they call!
    via huntercoldcalls
  • 09
    Oonly low body co... @lodiedodie14 Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 Not a safe environment to have a child in.
    via lodiedodie14
  • 10
    Yanik Guillemette @YGuillemet17015 Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 I see more and more stressed people with children sitting on them during zoom calls... It's horrible what society has become.
    via YGuillemet17015
  • 11
    Jonathan D @mymorristribe Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 lol, my wife carried our babies like that everywhere she went. She could have chosen daycare, but nobody else was going to take care of her babies when they were this little.
    via mymorristribe
  • 12
    Dylan @Flexd_ • 12 Jan Replying to @mcsquared34 No one on this planet could convince me that another living, breathing human being should have to live like that and work like that for the 1 life they have on this floating rock
    via Flexd_
  • 13
    Free Palestine! @FullLane Femme Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 and @HamptonThink With a baby this small, I'd love this worker to be on paid leave. $50k minimum for paid leave. Nurse practitioners who make home visits at her disposal. Well paid childcare workers available for when she needs a break if other supports in her life are unavailable.
    via FullLaneFemme
  • 14
    Composite... @slimbo_klice Follow Replying to @mcsquared34 childcare wouldn't be necessary if one full time salary paid for a family
    via slimbo_klice
  • 15
    Confused Gentle... Follow @TheConfusedGent Replying to @mcsquared34 My taxes are not paying for your child care. Nothing is free. .... My question of this image is the women wanting to be at work to prove a point? or was it necessary. The better question. Where is the father?
    via TheConfusedGent
  • 16
    defleppardfan94 @lemonade_grrrl i think the baby should be working too Follow
    via lemonade_grrrl
  • 17
    sonya seeks employment @sonyasupposedly DO ppl quoting or replying like "this is good actually," counterpoint do you know how your back would feel after a shift of this?? what about when her baby is a tiny bit older and needs more engagement? What about babies that hate carriers?
    via sonyasupposedly
  • 18
    Fifty Shades of Whey @davenewworld_2 Follow Parents in Germany can take up to 3 years of leave per child. They can take this leave all at once, or split it into 3 separate time periods until the child's 8th birthday while receiving a majority of their net income. When I tell this to boomers in the US, their brains explode.
    via davenewworld_2
  • 19
    sk @kirkxxs. 11 Jan this is terrible for the parent and the kid and we should push for better childcare and leave based off that but also anyone saying "not my problem" should know this also sucks for the customer cause when there's baby spit up in ur medium lemonade then what? then what!
    via kirkxxs
  • 20
    Meredith Thornb... @MCMCD_ Follow I would've had a very different reaction to this photo before having a child, but this looks pretty good to me now lol yes, a million caveats, how many breaks, how many hours a week, status of mom's physical recovery, baby's temperament, etc. but two things:
    via MCMCD_
  • 21
    Orpheas @OrphicCapital 12 Jan . hot take, if America/the West is a dystopian hellscape it's precisely because bringing your kids to work is seen as unprofessional and repressive in a healthier society kids would casually be around & would not only appear at a small number of specifically designated spaces
    via OrphicCapital
  • 22
    Anna @DistractedAnna 12 Jan It's really really weird to me that basically anyone is reacting to this without assuming that the mom owns the restaurant
    via DistractedAnna
  • 23
    Daughter of Flat Ear... @New_E_Mom Follow Nope I want paid maternity leave for every woman on earth until youngest kid is 5
    via New_E_Mom
  • 24
    doomer @uncledoomer skyler white running the car wash: 12 Jan ●
    via uncledoomer

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daycare twitter baby infant job Twitter Thread work debate working parenting food service newborn mom fast food
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