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I was at an upscale place having dinner tonight with a group of ladies. We sat on the patio and there was a large open area that 4 kids had turned into their personal playground..running, screaming, pulling strings of the overhead shades that were set up, etc. After a few times of not being able to hear ourselves talk a group of us told them to shut up. They were shocked but did quiet down. The one playing with the overhead shades kept right on doing it and I half expected him to start swinging on the ropes like like Tarzan. When one lady said he might hurt himself the rest chimed in "NOT OUR CONCERN". LOL. Really, we like kids, just not the annoying ones.
Dorthy, if all you got out of that post was the poster telling the kids to shut up, I believe you may have missed the entire point.
Anonchick, do you really think it's acceptable to tell strangers in public to "shut up? I didn't miss the point. If the poster, an adult told little kids to "shut up" then they were being just as rude as the kids. If they used other words such as, "excuse me, you are disturbing our dinner, please keep your voices down and stay in your seats" then that is great. I was asking for clarification if the poster really used the words, "shut up" like she said she did.
Anonchick, do you really think it's acceptable to tell strangers in public to "shut up? I didn't miss the point. If the poster, an adult told little kids to "shut up" then they were being just as rude as the kids. If they used other words such as, "excuse me, you are disturbing our dinner, please keep your voices down and stay in your seats" then that is great. I was asking for clarification if the poster really used the words, "shut up" like she said she did.
What I think is acceptable, is for parents to TAKE responsibility for their children and prevent them from pulling overhangs off the walls while attending to an "upscale" dining facility.
Clearly, the parents neglected to teach their children manners and proper behavior. At that point, a "excuse me, pretty please be nice" isn't going to work. The kids have already proven that. If they were able to mind their behavior, they wouldn't need to be told to shut up in the first place.
It's even funnier to me, that there are parents here who post questions that don't require being a parent, to know the answer to. Funny in a very sad, pathetic way, because it just proves what I had said that someone took offense to: that some people really are not qualified to breed at all.
What I think is acceptable, is for parents to TAKE responsibility for their children and prevent them from pulling overhangs off the walls while attending to an "upscale" dining facility.
Clearly, the parents neglected to teach their children manners and proper behavior. At that point, a "excuse me, pretty please be nice" isn't going to work. The kids have already proven that. If they were able to mind their behavior, they wouldn't need to be told to shut up in the first place.
Clearly a group of adults who yell, "shut up" to a group of kids in an upscale restaurant haven't learned much about manners and proper behavior. My parents taught me that two wrongs don't make a right and I agree with them.
Why would you jump to the conclusion that asking them nicely to settle down wouldn't work? That's where I'd start and if it didn't work I'd go up to the parents and tell them that their children were disturbing my dinner and to please get control of them. If that didn't work I'd talk to the manager.
It's even funnier to me, that there are parents here who post questions that don't require being a parent, to know the answer to. Funny in a very sad, pathetic way, because it just proves what I had said that someone took offense to: that some people really are not qualified to breed at all.
Their children are evidence of this.
The older I get, the more I realize that "obvious" solutions don't always work and don't always apply in every situation.
I was thinking of this thread yesterday while we were in Target. This little boy (about 6) was running in around the bins of school supplies. His mother was busy with her multiple lists (been there!), and he just got away from her. When he collided with my 10-year-old, she patted his little head gently, and said "Hey buddy, maybe it's time to stop running in the store. Why don't you help your mommy, okay?" He walked right over to his mom and started helping, and the mom said "Thank you, honey" to my daughter. Sometimes, a gentle reminder does wonders.
In the right context that makes a lot of sense lucygirl, and I agree 100% that getting short-tempered with an individual child who strays from his mom in a store where she has to attend to the shopping can be daunting.
However, in the situation we're talking about, this was a few children not merely wandering, but destroying property in an "upscale restaurant" (meaning, not Denny's and not Chuck E Cheese and not McDonald's) while the parents were probably sitting down and eating, and not "needing" to do anything at all - except for making sure their children don't disrupt the dining of everyone else and destroy property that isn't theirs. I mean, diners really have very few responsibiltities. Diners with children attending should put their myopia aside long enough to make sure their kids don't get THAT out of control in the first place. Rein them in when they leave the table - not after they've been disruptive enough that someone ELSE has to tell them to shut up. By then, it's too late.
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