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If the parent doesn't take their kid out into public to show them how to act and teach them to behave normally in public they'll never learn. Instead of being a noisy 10 month old with normal 10 month old manners, they'll become a loud, rambunctious 10 year old with 10 month old manners, or worse, a crappy older couple who thinks it's okay to pass notes of disapproval.
A parent should of course do what they can do limit the baby's impact on other diners' experiences, and I find that this is typically the case, but the alternative of never taking a small child into public because they might be noisy is far worse. We live in a society with billions of people of varying ages. We have to tolerate this and get along. Passive passive-aggressive notes is the behavior of people who never learned how to act in public. The ten year old has an excuse, the adult couple does not.
If you have a problem with children, then the problem is you - not the children.
If the parent doesn't take their kid out into public to show them how to act and teach them to behave normally in public they'll never learn. Instead of being a noisy 10 month old with normal 10 month old manners, they'll become a loud, rambunctious 10 year old with 10 month old manners, or worse, a crappy older couple who thinks it's okay to pass notes of disapproval.
A parent should of course do what they can do limit the baby's impact on other diners' experiences, and I find that this is typically the case, but the alternative of never taking a small child into public because they might be noisy is far worse. We live in a society with billions of people of varying ages. We have to tolerate this and get along. Passive passive-aggressive notes is the behavior of people who never learned how to act in public. The ten year old has an excuse, the adult couple does not.
If you have a problem with children, then the problem is you - not the children.
Totally agree with you....but apparently these parents didn't practice at home.
Passing the note was a friendly reminder to young parents as I was once, myself, a suggestion, to perhaps learn how to train their child.
I agree, it was worded wrong, but hey, if I were spending money to have a good dinner with my husband, I would have been angry to.
A screaming baby, defies all logic...
just like a dog that is barking constantly, the owners learn to ignore it, but to all their neighbors it is a great disturbance that goes on and on.....
I don't believe many people have a problem with children, I believe though, many people have a problem with a child that screams constantly.
We have to remember, all of us, that when in public, not everyone thinks alike.....we all need to work together.
This was at Texas Roadhouse not some freaking schwanky high class establishment. As they said themselves they are loud in fact voted the loudest restaurant by consumers! If those 2 old ladies (I'm 51 so can say it LOL) don't like noise why were they there? I am pretty certain there are other quieter places to eat. They could have handled it differently and in a nicer way. Could have asked to be moved to a different table? By the photos it looks like a pretty big place.
That being said, I was also once the Mom of a very strong willed baby. She still is at almost 17 :-) There were several times Dad or I had to walk her out of the restaurant until she calmed down and could come back in. A couple times I took her out and everyone finished eating while I had my dinner in a to go box. Kids have to learn and the only way to learn is by experience. It seems like the manager was pretty supportive she could have asked to walk the baby outside and they could have reheated her food when she came back in. At least she was trying to teach him.
What gets me is in a restaurant the adults go on talking and ignoring their kids completely oblivious to their kids tearing the place up, spilling, throwing food, screaming, creating havoc. All the while Mm and Dad are happily engrossed in their conversation not even looking at their kids or what's happening around them.
Kudos to Mom for trying and those ladies could have handled it differently.
This is why we rarely had a nice meal out when my daughter was little. So many times we took our food to-go. I understand babies scream and cry and kids act up. I don't mind as long as I see the parent addressing the issue. However, If you're not comforting the baby, not taking the kid outside, not doing something to quiet them down, acting like nothing is going on, Yep, you're getting a dirty look from me.
Who's to say she didn't take her son outside? Or that he was crying the entire time? Obviously the manager felt the child's or parent's behavior weren't unreasonable.
What seems unreasonable is to actually sit down and write a note trying to shame young parents. I might be more inclined to sympathize with the women had they simply left. But instead they didn't.
Occasional meltdowns are the cost of doing business of having infants /toddlers out in public. We have become a very entitled and demanding people, with zero tolerance for anything that makes us uncomfortable. In the case of intolerance of misbehaving children in public, such an expectation is explicitly anti-life and anti-future.
It's not up to the 10-month old to control his actions. It's up to the parents to take the child outside so he doesn't disturb people.
This is, of course, the correct answer.
Why parents believe that everyone should just accept their child's disruptive behavior, rather than removing the child from the situation, is beyond me.
And people wonder why their are so many "special snowflakes" running around.
Whether we're talking about a swanky restaurant, a loud steakhouse or McDonald's, a screaming/misbehaving child should be removed from the premises by a parent. Immediately.
That small children misbehave is understood. That parents have a duty to act in a manner that disturbs as few other patrons as possible needs to be understood. If your child screams, throws food, runs around the restaurant....it is THE PARENT's duty to take care of that, not THE OTHER PATRON's duty to put up with it.
That's why the parents should be controlling the circumstances where he is screaming and yelling. Children shouldn't be taken into public places until they have the self-control to behave properly, including not screaming unless there is a damn good reason.
If the parent doesn't take their kid out into public to show them how to act and teach them to behave normally in public they'll never learn. Instead of being a noisy 10 month old with normal 10 month old manners, they'll become a loud, rambunctious 10 year old with 10 month old manners, or worse, a crappy older couple who thinks it's okay to pass notes of disapproval.
A parent should of course do what they can do limit the baby's impact on other diners' experiences, and I find that this is typically the case, but the alternative of never taking a small child into public because they might be noisy is far worse. We live in a society with billions of people of varying ages. We have to tolerate this and get along. Passive passive-aggressive notes is the behavior of people who never learned how to act in public. The ten year old has an excuse, the adult couple does not.
If you have a problem with children, then the problem is you - not the children.
That's why it is best to practice AT HOME first, which obviously these parents don't do. Once the child has mastered proper dining etiquette in the home, where it is quiet and there are no distractions, then it is time to put their learning to the test by dining elsewhere. And yes, that may take a few years for them to learn.
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