Etiquette consultant weighs in on parenting debate sparked by a Blue Jays pitcher

A Metro Vancouver etiquette consultant suggested that if a Blue Jays pitcher’s kids are old enough to feed themselves, then they are old enough to clean up their own mess.

Ann Elizabeth Burnett of Elizabeth Etiquette is one of thousands of people who have weighed in on what has become a parenting debate sparked by Toronto player Anthony Bass.

“If children can feed themselves, then quite frankly, they are sensible enough to be able to pick up after themselves,” said Burnett.

On Sunday, Bass called out a United Airlines flight attendant for insisting that his wife clean up her daughter’s mess.

“The flight attendant just made my 22-week pregnant wife traveling with a five-year-old and two-year-old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter,” Bass posted on Twitter.

“Are you kidding me?!?!,” he added along with a photo of his daughter sitting on a plane with several pieces of popcorn under her seat.

Burnett, who used to work as a nanny in England, said parents should give kids a small amount of food in public places to see how they handle it. And if they make a mess, they should take some away.

“My thoughts in this situation is that the parent should have cleaned up to the best of her ability, and also have the children help her to clean up,” said Burnett.

It is true that airlines have crews clean aircraft, but Burnett said leaving the mess you made to someone else is “disrespectful”.

“We pick up after ourselves as a courtesy so that the cleaning crew can do a better job of cleaning the plane, ready for the next set of passengers,” she said.

United Airlines did not respond to CTV News’ request for comment, but Bass posted that a flight attendant handed out the popcorn.

What’s not clear is the manner in which the airline employee dealt with the mother.

“It’s the tone of the voice,” said Burnett. “‘Here. I’ve brought some wipes. Let me help your clear this up.’”