A mother's Facebook post calling herself the "meanest mum ever" for throwing her kids ice cream away has inspired a flurry of praise.
Jaime Primak Sullivan described an afternoon where she had taken her kids to an ice cream shop and ordered desserts for them.
But things turned sour when her kids "lost their manners".
"The young lady handed each child their ice cream and not one looked her in the eye. Not one said thank you," Sullivan wrote.
Sullivan continued: "So I waited. I counted to 10 in my head as they dug into their ice cream and the young lady just looked at me.
"I watched as my children strolled out the door. I followed them outside where I calmly collected their ice creams and my kids watched in horror as I deposited them into the nearby garbage can.
"All three launched into mass hysteria. I waited. Quiet. Calm. When they realised I had something to say, they quieted down."
Sullivan said she explained to her children that one day, if they were lucky, they might have a job like the young lady in the ice cream shop.
"I said I would hope that people would see them. Really see them. Look them in the eye and say thank you," she continued.
"We are too old at ages eight, seven and five to move through our days without exercising manners and honestly basic human decency.
"So today, I am the meanest mum in the world".
The post, originally uploaded on Monday 18 April, has been shared more than 25,000 times.
It has received 19,000 comments from both parents and those who work in the hospitality industry thanking Sullivan for bringing the issue to light.
"As someone who works in a restaurant and deals with people who ignore me when I ask 'How are you?' or sit their money on the counter when I'm holding my hand out for it, or won't even acknowledge me - thank you," one person wrote. "Thank you for instilling into your children manners and plain human decency."
Another mother commented: "I remember when my son was small and a lady gave him a sweet, I said 'What do you say?' and he said nothing.
"I handed it back to her and said he didn't deserve the sweet.
"He had a fit, but I didn't care. I told him if someone offers him a piece of paper you still say 'Thank you' or 'No thank you'. Manners matter."
Sullivan later responded to the comments on her post by uploading a video.
"I never imagined it would have the response it did," she said. "My kids are given loads by way of entertainment and opportunity.
"If I die tomorrow I’m leaving you with my three children and I would like the world to be better because they’re in it."
Sullivan pointed out this isn't the first time she’s tried to get her kids to be respectful and grateful to store employees.
But all the reminders haven't seemed to work, which is why this time she opted to do something about it.
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