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What is your basic point? MY basic point is that living in a society means that we all have to put up with less than ideal perfection. That includes loud children, annoying old people and the occasional 3am party.
And I'm not even touching the "control" statement.
My sister and I were not angels in public. But, we knew if our mom/dad had to remove us ,we would be severely punished. They did not play games. We were not allowed to behave like little brats at home either. Whining or complaining about dinner earned you a one way ticket to bed.
My kids were not perfect. They were taught manners and how to behave at home and were expected to behave. If they failed to meet expectations, they were removed and punished at home. I must admit that I was A LOT nicer than my parents were. My ex and I never took them places if they were sick, tired, etc. It wasn't fair to anyone.
What is your basic point? MY basic point is that living in a society means that we all have to put up with less than ideal perfection. That includes loud children, annoying old people and the occasional 3am party.
There is absolutely no reason that kids should be running around in restaurants or engaging in similarly poor behavior. And I say that as a parent of a preschooler. The occasional raised voice shouldn't be a big deal, as long as the child quiets down right away. Kids certainly should be welcome to be out and about in society, but that doesn't mean running wild. I rarely see that kind of bad behavior, but have seen it from time to time. There is NO reason anyone should have to tolerate that, and no reason a parent can shrug it off as "kids being kids." If your kid has a tantrum then you need to remove him or her from the restaurant. If the kid is bored and wants to walk around and play under the tables then you tell him no, and either distract him (most parents I know travel with things to do just that) or you cut your dinner short. That said, people in restaurants who see parents with kids in full melt-down mode who ARE doing something about should cut them some slack; it's not always possible to instantaneously whisk them out the door.
As a parent one of the most annoying situations for me is when we are out at a restaurant and I see other kids modeling behavior that I don't find acceptable. Usually it's relatively mild (I rarely see the really out-of-control kids), but it still bugs me. We use that as an opportunity to talk about what's appropriate and what's not appropriate behavior, though, so at least it's a learning experience. My son might not behave perfectly at all times, but he knows that he's not going to be allowed to get up and wander around at a restaurant, for example. It's simply not an option. Never has been. Never will be. Excusing that kind of behavior as "kids being kids" is taking the lazy way out.
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