Restaurant Child Ban Update (friends, family, behavior, moms)
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remember the thread about the shopping carts with TV's in them, and how awful people seemed to think they are? "we" hate noisy kids in stores, but we hate a product meant to entertain them for 30 minutes while we shop. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. "you people" are impossible to please!
Yep. Some people will find anything to ***** about, I swear.
We always had the kids help with the groceries and talked to them while we were in the store. They don't usually have tantrums if they are engaged. Other parents use the carts with those cars underneath (I hate them, but they generally keep the kids out of mischief). At the grocery stores here, I have not seen any tantruming. I have seen an occasional infant crying, but that is a different thing.
I see no reason there can't be "quiet" times set aside for grocery shopping as well. And the laundromat for sure too please. Nobody is asking that they go completely kid-free. But to have certain hours set aside so that those with with PTSD or noise sensitivity issues could be gauranteed a quiet experience shouldn't be a big deal.
For me it's all about the noise. Life is so noisy already without adding screaming kids at the store or laundromat to the mix. And yes, the last time I was at the laundromat a duhd let one of his five kids scream piercingly and all he did was talk on his cell phone the entire time. I had a splitting headache and finally threw the last load of laundry unfolded into the basket simply because I couldn't take it anymore. Others were giving him the death glare as well. Oh, and did I mention that my last load was half-wet because some little munchkin had opened up the door before they were done ? No parent came forward to admit it was their kid and pay to replace the quarters I'd already put in.
Pertinent point: Why couldn't have duhd stayed home with his kids and let mom go out to do the laundry. Same with the grocery store. I hate when entire families have to go grocery shopping, as if it's the family reunion or something. There is almost always someone to leave your kids with. I managed somehow when mine were young.
Pertinent point: Why couldn't have duhd stayed home with his kids and let mom go out to do the laundry. Same with the grocery store. I hate when entire families have to go grocery shopping, as if it's the family reunion or something. There is almost always someone to leave your kids with. I managed somehow when mine were young.
There are a myriad of reasons why this may not work for every family.
1. Dad may be travelling (or in the armed forces) so he may not be available to stay home while mom grocery shops.
2. Mom may be a single mom without a support system - no relatives nearby or friends who are willing to babysit for her.
3. Parents may intend to use the grocery shopping trip as a learning experience for the children. We did this all the time when ours were young. My kids learned the names of different vegetables and fruits and they learned colors and numbers and letters too. All of this was done while they were in the cart or walking next to us.
4. It may actually get families in and out faster if both parents go and take the kids, but they split up the aisles to get different products.
I see no reason there can't be "quiet" times set aside for grocery shopping as well. And the laundromat for sure too please. Nobody is asking that they go completely kid-free. But to have certain hours set aside so that those with with PTSD or noise sensitivity issues could be gauranteed a quiet experience shouldn't be a big deal.
For me it's all about the noise. Life is so noisy already without adding screaming kids at the store or laundromat to the mix. And yes, the last time I was at the laundromat a duhd let one of his five kids scream piercingly and all he did was talk on his cell phone the entire time. I had a splitting headache and finally threw the last load of laundry unfolded into the basket simply because I couldn't take it anymore. Others were giving him the death glare as well. Oh, and did I mention that my last load was half-wet because some little munchkin had opened up the door before they were done ? No parent came forward to admit it was their kid and pay to replace the quarters I'd already put in.
Pertinent point: Why couldn't have duhd stayed home with his kids and let mom go out to do the laundry. Same with the grocery store. I hate when entire families have to go grocery shopping, as if it's the family reunion or something. There is almost always someone to leave your kids with. I managed somehow when mine were young.
well, was mom there too, or just dad? Maybe there is no mom. Maybe she left or died. A lot of dads travel for work, and mom is alone with the kids all week. Parents do need to teach their kids to be considerate of other people, but parents can't be expected to leave the kids home all the time. It isn't realistic. Maybe you were overly sensitive that day.
If one is truly so sensitive as to not being able to shop with children or other potentially startling things in a grocery store, I'd suggest doing your shopping at hours when children are unlikely to be there. I'd say before 8am and after 9pm are pretty good bets. No guarantees because sometime, as others have referred to, there is no other parent around to help (for any number of reasons....perhaps mom or dad is deployed...) and you have to make a milk/diaper/pharmacy run. It happens. But there are times in a store that are quieter - so I'd choose to do my shopping then if it were THAT big of an issue.
well, was mom there too, or just dad? Maybe there is no mom. Maybe she left or died. A lot of dads travel for work, and mom is alone with the kids all week. Parents do need to teach their kids to be considerate of other people, but parents can't be expected to leave the kids home all the time. It isn't realistic. Maybe you were overly sensitive that day.
No. The mom was definitely there.
Also, with regards to my wet laundry, either the parent wasn't watching the kid as they should have been or they did indeed see the child open my machine and not close it again (hence letting the timer run out). Either way, they didn't care enough to approach me and apologize for their child and/or offer me quarters to dry my clothes.
But back on topic, I see nothing wrong with accomodating customers who wish for quiet as well as those with children. I think it's perfectly fair. What isn't fair is being outraged at those who oftentimes need quiet (migraine triggers for example) simply for asking for some gauranteed quiet hours to shop and do other errands that have to be done.
I'm for fairness on both sides.
Also, I wasn't overly sensitive that day, this kid was literally shrieking less than five feet from where I was folding clothes and I couldn't move to another table as there was no space available. Dad should have taken her outside as good courtesy to the captive audience trying to do nothing but mind their own business and get their laundry done (doing laundry sucks at the best of times anyway lol). And as I said in my previous post, a serious headache was triggered by all that high-pitched noise.
I wonder if this is a "baby boomer" issue, after all, those folks no longer have kids, how would a "no kids" place worked 20 or 30 years ago? The place would have gone out of business.
I remember growing up, going out to dinner as a family was an exception, a really special occasion. It's probably recent that people don't hire babysitters but take the kids with them everywhere they go.
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