“I guess he doesn’t fit in with social norms that kids should fit in and what they should look like.”
Single mother Jackie Macedo had been bringing her son along to her market stalls for years.
Three-year-old Noah, who has Down syndrome, would happily play in his cot and hang out with other stall owners while his mum dished up her food at markets around Sydney.
“Often when I pull up at the market he starts giggling with delight as he realises where we are,” Ms Macedo says. “He loves interacting with the customers. He loves walking around the market.”
“My staff and I take turns to break up his day with visits to the miniature ponies and the jumping castle and to say hello to the other stallholders.”
But after years of this happy routine, Ms Macedo has made the difficult decision to quit her regular Saturday stall — after the market organisers received complaints about her son’s presence.
As 48-year-old Ms Macedo explains, attempts to have her son removed from various marketplaces have been happening for years — but recently came to a head.
“Sometimes it’s members of the public expressing their disapproval, other times it is market organisers outright banning him,” Ms Macedo writes on her blog.
“People thought he was being discriminated against and there was a view that a child should not be in that environment, they thought they were protecting him,” Ms Macedo told the Daily Mail. “I guess he doesn’t fit in with social norms that kids should fit in and what they should look like.”
She adds that some of the complaints are down to “a clash of cultures”.
“A large segment of the Australian public feels strongly about the separation of work and family. They think I’m short-changing Noah by bringing him along to work,” she explains.
Related: “To the Australian couple who abandoned their son with Down syndrome.”
Top Comments
I'm confused - she doesn't have to quit her job, as despite the complaint the market organisers support her bringing Noah. Rather, she has chosen to quit in reaction to the complaints.
So since she technically doesn't have to quit, what is going to the media going to achieve if she's not fighting for permission to bring Noah? Publicity for her blog and future online store? Why the focus on Noah's down syndrome, was that part of the actual complaint or is she using it to sensationalise her story and gain further sympathy?
It's awful that people have complained about a child being at work with his mum, but her motives for going public are questionable since she doesn't appear willing to continue the market no matter what.
Apparently several other markets she used to work at have outright banned her from bringing her son with her.
Ah okay, it makes more sense if she's fighting to be allowed to take him to other markets :)
Australian culture is a funny thing. We like to think of ourselves as 'free', 'accepting' and 'open minded'. In reality we are conservative, deeply fearful and have very strong ideas of social expectations.
Yes! Travelled to Germany recently and was surprised at some of the freedoms they have that we don't and they're famous for being strait-laced.