Rowdy Children not welcome in restaurant

[Asarelah]

http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2971198&page=1

I wish I lived near this restaurant, so that I could support it.

[BitterReceptionist]

Finally... I can't tell you how many Saturdays and Sundays were spent dodging children at the cafe.. I would totally support this place....

Too bad I live in phx.

[MrSunshineState]

Finally! Somebody stepping up against lazy parents!! Gotta love it!

What gets me is children are still allowed to dine in that restraunt, but the fact that the owner calls for them to behave "offends" parents and causes a "boycott"?

Oh well, you have no idea how much I would enjoy eating out without hearing "BBBBBBBBBLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H" right behind me with their parents "Ohhhh isn't junior sooo cute and smart?"

[iradney]

For every family that boycotts that restaurant, I'll bet there's 2 that will go there regularly for a SANE night out!

[BusyBee]

Good on 'im! I can only hope it catches on all around the world

The wording of his sign is so mild, my mind boggled when it said people were saying they were offended by it. I guess a lot of parents just can't even stand the suggestion that some kids sometimes might not always be perfect little angels - and should actually be pulled into line.
Guess they don't understand being a real parent is doing more than just passing on genetic material

[powerboy]

My brother and I, were always behaved, when we went somewhere with the parents. We still are to this day.

[blas]

Even if business started to decline at first, I'm sure as soon as word spread around about their no bullshit policy when it comes to rowdy kids, more people started coming.

Finally, a restaurant where people could go out for dates, for family dinners, for whatever reason, and no one would have to worry about unruly children. I doubt business was down for very long.

[NightAngel]

It's funny that I logged in and found this thread today of all days.

There was a letter put on the door of every home in my community.

It begins:

"TO ALL RESIDENTS:

We need parents who actually do some parenting.
... in six years I have never seen a parent intercede when children are engaging in vanadalism. Not once!...

Children walk in the streets and refuse to get out of the way of traffic. They sometimes smirk at the driver thinking their conduct is cute or funny...

When we report children's misconduct to their parents they, more often than not, respond well and discipline their children. However, why should anything have to be reported to them? Why are they not controlling their children?...

...apparently parents have abdicated parental responsiblity to the police..."

The letter goes on to say that none of this nonsense will be tolerated. Children will not be allowed to play in the streets anymore and they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for vandalism. They also seem to be putting the foot down on children harassing other children and screaming cuss words.

[Linda]

My favourite restaurant has actually banned ALL children under 6 from the restaurant part. They are allowed in the takeaway section.

The sign reads "due to our small seating space and the inability of parents to parent, children under 6 are not permitted to eat in the restaurant. We reserve the right to refuse service to ANYONE. Have a nice day."

It's a fabulous place to eat.

[bigjimaz]

I feel for workers having to deal with people with poor parenting skills. It's not the kids fault if the parent is unwilling to teach basic social skills. What bothers me about this is the good parents that do what they are supposed to do are being punished. This being said, I can relate a story about the flip side of the coin.

ME: Hehe
SC: other customer
SW: super waitress
SO: super owner

When my baby (Gerry) was still an infant (he's grown now but was about 2 months old then) we were driving on vacation through Virginia and were getting hungry so we (me, wife, Gerry and his almost 3yo brother Jimmy) stopped in a little one-horse town to get something to eat. The only restaurant I saw was a little mom-and-pop diner-type place adjacent to the interstate.

After ordering Gerry got restless and began to cry. All attempts by me and the Mrs. did nothing to appease him so I took him outside to try to calm him, apologizing to nearby patrons as I walked to the door. When taking him outside didn't work I returned to the table and mom took him to the bathroom to see if a diaper change was in order. It wasn't and Gerry continued to fuss so she took him outside. The food arrived and she brought him back in, seemingly appeased, at least for that moment. As we started to eat, he started crying again. I asked the waitress for some to-go containers, intending to put our food in them and eat in the car, or outside away from other patrons. Before the waitress even had time to react to my request, a woman sitting on the other side of the partition between our table and hers said,

SC: (yelling) Can't you shut that damn kid up?
ME: I'm sorry, we're trying to get him quiet. We'll be leaving in a minute.
SC: Why you people have to bring babies into a restaurant is beyond me!
ME: We're vacationing. We live in Pennsylvania. We have to eat sometime.
SW: It's not their fault Rosie, (using her name, apparently she's a regular customer), they're trying.
SC: I can't stand a brat wailing like that. Get them out of here so I can have some peace.
SW: Rosie, didn't you ever have this happen when (gives names of SC's spawn) were little?
SC: Yes, but I knew how to shut 'em up.

As SW turns and leaves, I ask the Mrs. to take the boys outside and I'll bring the food and pay the check. As my wife aggragates everything a grandmotherly person with a dirty apron comes over to us.

SO: You folks sit back down. Don't worry about anything. Enjoy your meals.
SC: SO, if they aren't leaving, I am, and I aint coming back!
SO: Go right ahead, Rosie. These people have the same rights as you.
SC: You're willing to lose my business for a bunch of tourists?
SO: Tourists are my best customers Rosie, and besides, I don't think losing the cost of 1 cup of coffee once a week will hurt me too bad.
ME:

Sorry this was so long, and I agree with the rest of you about todays mentally absent parents. I just thought you'd like to read that.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

The letter goes on to say that none of this nonsense will be tolerated. Children will not be allowed to play in the streets anymore and they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law for vandalism. They also seem to be putting the foot down on children harassing other children and screaming cuss words.

Dude! That's awesome. I'm all for it. If the parents are unwilling to properly raise their *children then it's time the justice system gave the little @#$%ers a quick harsh lesson about life.

M

[blas]

I don't think children playing IN THE STREETS is a good idea at all, but that sounds a bit harsh. If children are merrily playing in their own front yards (or at a friends' house) and they are being watched by a parent/guardian/babysitter, why is that considered vandalism?

NightAngel, what exactly are these kids doing in the streets of your city??

[iradney]

blas87, the letter does seem a bit vague, but I think the writer means that the kids are playing in the street unsupervised, and as such they then commit acts of vandalism due to the lack of supervision...
Of course, I do stand to be corrected.

Back OT
If I can see the parents are geniunely trying to calm the kid down or discipline them, then I don't mind them as much as those that sit there in their own little world while their brat is crawling around under my table!

[MCSledgehammer]

I'll say right off, I really don't like kids much. All my mommy instincts get used up on my cats, I guess. However, my own personal bias being revealed, having done some babysitting in my day, I know how hard it is. Sometimes kids are feeling bad for some reason that they just don't have the vocabulary to express. So they cry and sulk and whine and are generally irritating. I feel bad for them, kinda.
I rarely have much of a problem with infants. Little babies cry. It's what they do, it happens. If the parents are doing their best, I'll give them a sympathetic smile and tell them their kid is cute and make faces at it- for some reason a different person seem to distract them, and they stop crying. No biggie, kid stops wailing, I've done my good deed for the day, and everyone goes on with their meal in peace.
The ones that really bug me are the ones who are old enough to know better. In fact, it's not even them, it's their parents. If your child is 7 and doesn't know how to behave in a casual restaurant setting, you have done something wrong along the way. I for one think what the restaurant is doing is wonderful. We forget sometimes, that private businesses do in fact reserve the right to refuse service to those who don't behave appropriately. If I was in a restaurant as a grown woman, and ran around screaming and harassing other patrons, I'd be outside on the street so fast my head would spin, because I should know better. If your kid can reasonably be expected to know better, they should, or you should leave them with a sitter before you go out.
It's a difficult issue, because I know a lot of parents are doing their best, and it's a case of bad timing or circumstances out of their control. I also know a lot of parents expect someone else to take care of their kids when they go out, and I want to flog them with wet noodles for it. Sometimes it's tough to tell the difference, and either way, my meal is disturbed.
Sorry for so long!

[Giggle Goose]

I agree, MC. It's one thing when you have an infant and the parents are doing their best to calm them down; but it's another when the kid should know what they're doing and the parents just sit down and laugh when their kids are running around the restaurant raising holy hell.

As for the OP, I think people were being too touchy. It's not like he said: "Take you screaming bratty kids out of my restaurant!" If parents are so insistent that their little angels are the best behaved kids out there, then there shouldn't be a problem, right? If it is, well, go to Chuck E Cheese's or something. Yeesh.