Self-declared 'meanest mum ever' dumps kids ice cream cones after they refuse to thank waitress.

Jersey Belle star Jaime Primak Sullivan has announced to Facebook that she is the “meanest mum ever” after putting three ice creams in the bin.

Her children, Charlie, Max and Olivia “snatched” their ice-creams from a waitress without saying thank-you in the US chain Dairy Queen.

“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,” said Sullivan in her post.

“All three launched into mass hysteria. I waited. Quiet. Calm. When they realized I had something to say, they quieted down.”

Her children, ages eight, seven and five listened to their mother’s reasoning.

“I explained that one day, if they were lucky, they would work a job like that young lady.

“And I would hope that people would see them. Really see them. Look them in the eye and say thank you,” she said.

It seems other mothers have been there. The post has been shared more than 19,000 times.

“You don’t become the meanest mum ever – without effort,” Sullivan said in a video message in response to the Facebook storm.

“I would like my kids to actually have manners, forever,” she said.

The actress was criticised for “over-reacting” but she defended her actions in a video chat.

“I don’t want my kids to be the people that look past people,” she added.

She says she hopes the incident teaches her children about the need to cultivate manners and “basic human decency”.

The mother threatened to never enter a Dairy Queen again if her kids don’t learn.