Has anyone bothered to even ask the OP if her child was bad?

All the instructor would have had to do is say "Its ok this one time, but if the child begins to be a distraction, I'll have to ask you to leave."

That way you aren't kicking out a paying customer...yet surely everyone else should be able to learn.

Someone else mentioned a distracting cell phone...Yep in my class I had several "distracting cell phones", plus "distracting" store employees eating chips for break. Plus everyone was late, all the time. Its one of those things. Life isn't perfect, and sometimes you have to work out compromises to the best of your ability. I don't think "kicking out" an unsuspecting, harried mother was a very nice compromise. They didn't even give the child the chance to sit quietly and behave.

Thank you all for your replies. I took time to read everyone's opinion. I guess the problem is, I expected other ppl to treat me like I would treat them.

My husband stayed longer in church that day (due to unavoidable circumstances) so I have to give my 3 mo. old son to my friend & had to take my daughter with me cause my friend has her own kids too..... I just didn't want to miss the class that day.

I went to Course I & II & teacher allowed kids. I haven't heard of "no kids" policy in Wilton Class.

I'm again going to defend the teacher since she isn't here to defend herself.

IF THAT WERE ME, I'D BE WRITTEN UP FOR ALLOWING THAT CHILD TO ATTEND THE CLASS! With enough write up's I would be fired with no exception.

What if this teach has a store manager like mine? What if she's already made that allowance and taken a write up for it and if she was told if she would have allowed it again she'd be fired?

You guys want to say that this WMI should have made an exception but what if like me she can't?

Not all WMI's do this for a "fun" job for "play" money. Some of us do it for grocery money, rent/mortgage payments, and it is a "real" job because we need the money and this job allows us the schedule we need for our family time.

So all of you who believe this WMI should have made the exception... are you really saying that she should very possibly put her job on the line for a student and her 4 year old?

Again, I say that the WMI may have needed to be more tactful but none of us are in the lives of the OP or the WMI so we are hearing one side of a multi sided conversation.

Michael's policy is there for a reason but like many other corporate policies not all managers follow it. Some may not care if you bring kids and ignore the rule while others will follow that rule no matter what.

If that indeed is a Michael's rule, then it should be told to the customer up front when they sign up.

Many, if not most, Wilton students are moms. So it would be logical to warn them ahead of time that they cannot take the class unless they have someone to watch their kids.

I understand if the WMI would have gotten in trouble for allowing the child. However on the other hand, Michaels should be a bit more clear on their rules, because here we have a mom who made last minute arrangements for her baby and rushed to class, since she paid for it and wanted to get there. Its kind of sad that she had to just turn around and go home after all that.

Rules are rules...but there are ways of enforcing rules that are at least kind and thoughtful. At the very least, the WMI could have said, "I'm sorry, Michaels has a rule against allowing children in the classes. I am in no position to allow your child in here, but if you'd like to go talk to the manager about your situation, and he allows you to come, I'd be happy to catch you up on what you missed for 15 minutes after class." Or something. Gee....can't people be nice anymore?

Why is it the responsibility of the store to go over every possible scenario? It is a PAID class! Which means, if one person pays, ONE PERSON attends. I wouldn't buy a concert ticket and assume I could bring my little one because I couldn't find a sitter.

If the parent was worried about arranging childcare, then it's the parent's responsibility to inquire about the policies regarding bringing children to class.

yup. What else was there to say?

I feel bad that the OP was embarrassed but as someone who loaths kids i have to say that if i paid to go to a class that involves concentration and costs money and is for adults, etc i wouldnt be happy if kids were allowed. what if three of four people decided to bring them cause they couldnt find a sitter? i personally dont believe that even the best behaved 4 year old could sit completly quietly during a class like this and as someone who has had to walk out of the cinema due to people bring 5 or 6 year olds to a 12 or 15 cert film, or listening to whiny loud kids in adult restaurants i do understand the no kids policy. for some adults the class would be a break from their own kids, or a lovely escape doing something they really enjoy and the last thing they would want is peoples children in the background.

It was just a bad situation for the OP and again, im sorry you were embarrassed.

I will agree to disagree. Before I start pulling my hair out in frustration.

I like my hair, it's puuuuuuuurrrdy and I'd like to keep it.

Just because one dislikes kids doesn't mean one judges your parenting ability before the fact. Don't be so quick to assume.

gotta agree with kitagirl about the "loathe kids" comment..........that's just not 2 words that should ever go together! Yuck

When I took the Wilton courses my kids were very young and to be honest I used the courses as a "night out with the girls". Looking back, I kind of wished they had served wine, than it would have been a REAL girls night out....oh well!

Having said that, there are 2 sides and I understand both side's reactions. Sorry you were embarassed and hurt, but I wouldn't let it stop you from taking the course when you do have a sitter for your child. I don't think the teacher's reaction was unjustified, maybe her delivery was insensitive, but, her class was disrupted by the OP's late arrival.

Does anyone know of any cake courses where they serve cheese and wine???????

It looks like the OP was not asking for our opinions on whether what she did was right or wrong. She was simply looking to vent her frustration and disappointment. So instead of offering judgement or opinions that were not requested, can we just support her? I'd be disappointed too if that were me. I'd feel even worse after reading all of these posts. Hugs to her!

Why is it always considered so unacceptable to dislike children? Some people hate cats or dogs or horses. Some people hate people, and some hate kids.

Oy, you seem to have selectively filtered out the part where I wrote some people hate people.

And some people loath teens, some hate tweens. kids are no different from other people grouped by age.

I agree with Dkelly27, I am a teacher of both cake decorating and dance. If you are late you aren't even allowed in the classroom, end of story. No mama's or daddy's in the dance room with kiddo, and no kiddo's allowed in cake class with mommy or daddy, end of story.

If you are late that is very disrespectful to the teacher and the other students so actually you arriving so late and having a very young child in tow was just as rude as you perceived the instructors response.

And everyone...think...we weren't there, we don't know the intonation of the instructors response; she could have possibly said "You are late and I'm sorry but we don't allow children in class." Which to me is a very appropriate response. If you are a very sensative person, and this was announced out loud in front of the other students it could be in your eyes rude of her to not allow your entry and announce such in front of others. As an instructor I feel your instructor was more than justified in her response. To take you aside to discuss "discreetly" would have taken even more time from her other students who paid their fee also, and made sure they were on time. I am sure there were many moms of young kids in that class too, yet they didn't have their kids with them.

Please people use some common sense! An adult class especially one where sharp tools will be used means NO KIDS ALLOWED!

Sorry but you get no sympathy from me on this subject.

Oh and to add, I do offer cake classes specifically designed for kiddos.

Loathe is a pretty strong word.

Main Entry: loathe
Pronunciation: \\ˈlôth\\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): loathed; loath·ing
Etymology: Middle English lothen, from Old English lâthian to dislike, be hateful, from lâth
Date: 12th century
: to dislike greatly and often with disgust or intolerance : detest
synonyms see hate

Wilton courses are designed for mid teens to adult, younger children are not recommended, but I have had paying children that did quite well. It tends to be a Wilton policy, but Michael's may have liability issues as well. It is up to each WMI to enforce, but it is something that we are told. At least here in Canada.

As well there is a difference between paying for a child to be in the class, and just bringing a child.

That being said...if you feel slighted and that the situation could have been handled in a more appropriate manner, talk to the manager, and call Wilton. Don't just say there is no point. You may not be the only person who complained, but they might come up with a better way of us handling those issues in class, without embarassing students.

There's a big difference between dislike and loathe.

No duh, missy. You are preaching to the choir, d kelly.

Whoa-who loathes children? Do you hate kittens too? Did you get a huge lump of coal in your stocking this year? Or did you just steal all the toys from the Whos? The Grinch hates kids, too.
I will probably regret saying that, I'm sure.

Lots of peeps loathe kids, but since so many people think kid-haters are the worst imaginable people to ever set foot on the skin of the earth, many kid-loathers never pipe up.

Just have to jump in here! Liking or disliking children is not the subject of this thread. I have 2 grandson's and love them to death, but that being said, When I am paying for a class I expect the focus to be on the subject being taught. I think it is unfair not to respect the other people in the class. I turn off my cell phone. I am always at least 5 to 10 minutes early to class and I would never consider taking one of my grandsons with me. I don't care how good and well behaved young children are. They are still a distraction.