Kids in restaurants...

[PaulaJoAnne]

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[maplesky7]

and yet sometime life is life....

sure it was a long day for me and my girls the other day but there was nothing suggesting that we couldn't sit down and have a meal... there wasn't anything prepared at home--unfrozen or the like... so we stopped for a meal. She was in good spirits all day... UNTIL the seating arrangement and sometimes there's just no reasoning with a child who will have none of it.

That said, you pick them up and leave, like I did. No sense in dragging it out. It is what it is. Can everything be preplanned and can we guess our children's attitudes from hour to hour not fully comprehending when something may set them off? No... so you deal with it as it happens.

Have we been able to sit down and have a meal together without disruptions... sure, plenty of times.


but my view is...when you have small children...you've got to roll with the punches and take things as they come... keeping in mind common courtesy as mentioned and lessons to be had as well. ....it is what it is...

geez, seems to be my new philosophy on life.... "it is what it is..."

 

[The Chicken Lady]

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Agreed.

Listening to children whine, yell, cry, and argue with their parents in public is beyond irritating. I was at a Pizza Hut a couple weeks ago and came *this close* to asking the waitress to move DH and I because of the obnoxious kids right next to us and their equally-obnoxious (and ineffective) father, who couldn't get them to shut up and basically argued with them the entire time.

I'm with Fort Worth Chicks -- I am firm believer that kids who act out in public places should be removed from that public place (be it a store or restaurant) by their parents until they have calmed down. Unfortunately, a lot of peeps no longer seem to have a sense of shame and let their kids scream, run around, touch *everything*, crawl on the furniture, argue, whine, cry, beg and generally drive all the other paying customers batty.

I also shake my head when I hear parents offer empty threats like, "I'm never taking you to the grocery store again!" while continuing to shop. Epic fail.

 

[MagsC]

Me too. As long as they behave I have absolutely no problem with it.

 

[DuckLady]

I like to take other peoples kids out and teach them to play ice football on the table, blow straw wrappers and see how big of bubbles they can make in their milk with the straw. Then take them home

 

[LauraZone5]

i have not read all the replies, but as a waitress of 27 years.......
Leave them at home if they cannot sit still, use manners, and used inside voices.

People who secured child care for the evening, who are spending their hard earned money in my restaurant to enjoy a kid free evening do not want to sit next too, or in a room with a child or children who are running wild, banging silverware, using their outside voices or listen to their moms whine "siiiiiiiitttttt doooooowwwnnnnn" at the top of her lungs.
Too many come in, trash the table, let their kids throw their food on the floor, leave a poor tip, and act like it's the servers JOB TO CLEAN UP AFTER HER SLOPPY KIDS.

That fractures me every time.

Or the moms that come in (usually in 3's or 4's) with 5-7 kids that just run WILD while they sip on their wine and talk about how "cute" their kids are.

Had one family, that opened presents at the table. Dad got cologne. One of the wild animals sprayed about 10 pumps of this cologne in the dining room. Imagine the gagging smell of 10 pumps of men's cologne in a very small dining room. Yeah, mom was wasted and dad thought he was cute. Had two tables ask for their checks, and both told the man his kid was bad on their way out. The dad wanted to get snarky with me for what the other guests said.......really.

Unless you are going to a kids place, or they are SO well behaved people make it a point to stop by your table and tell you how well behaved they are......
Leave them at home.

 

[WoodChic]

Exactly what do you define "children" as? (age range)

 

[thebritt]

I've found that most "nice" (4-star types which I've rarely been able to afford) don't have kid-friendly food anyway. That said, we raised our daughter to have respect for other people. That works in restaurants, libraries, anywhere people gather. Once a child learns empathy, it's not hard to say, "How would YOU feel if someone (was rude/loud/etc) while YOU were trying to (show your rabbit, tell a story, serve food, etc.).
I have less respect for the PARENTS of rude children than for the kids themselves. When kids are young, it's like blaming the dog for bad behavior instead of the owner, IMHO.

 

[debilorrah]

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I like to take my nephews out and give them ice cream and candy and then send them home at about 8 pm. My brother deserves it.

 

[debilorrah]

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Anyone under 18 that can't mind their manners. I am typically referring to kids between 3-5 years old. 5 year olds know better, the parents do nothing. 3 year olds don't and the parents do nothing.