I thought I'd seen it all---

[Uncleromulus]

I'm curious as to why none of the CMs said anything. Of course you can't expect a 5 year old to use a knife and fork or sit completely still for a 2 hour meal but who lets their child walk on a table full of food? And why would the staff allow it? What is wrong with people?

I have been told a # of times by servers and bartenders that they are told NEVER to question or correct any persons behavior who just seems to be having fun. The best they could do would be to alert a manager or supervisor.

 

[Uncleromulus]

There are some real dummies out there parenting. Pathetic.

I agree. Can't tell you how many times over the last week we saw kids in the Parks, at the hotels, on the Monorail, at the pools etc etc just walk away from the parents and when the parents said something like "Sally--come back here" or 'Wilbur, time to get out of the pool" the kid just said "NO"!!! And kept on walking!! Or swimming!! And the parents just looked like "oh well"---and did nothing.

 

[MammaMoe48]

I agree. Can't tell you how many times over the last week we saw kids in the Parks, at the hotels, on the Monorail, at the pools etc etc just walk away from the parents and when the parents said something like "Sally--come back here" or 'Wilbur, time to get out of the pool" the kid just said "NO"!!! And kept on walking!! Or swimming!! And the parents just looked like "oh well"---and did nothing.

Then when their kid goes missing, they say "I only looked away for a second"

 

[tarak]

My DH hates it when kids kick his seat it one of his pet peeves. He always says something. One time the parent told him that he has no right to tell his kids what to do. DH answer well if he was doing his job instead of being on his phone he wouldn't have to say anything since his precious little darling has been kicking his seat for a few minutes but he didn't notice it. Or does he thinks that is acceptable behavior? Of course there was. I come back he just sat in silence the rest of the play.

On our flight home, my 4-year-old stretched out and bumped the seat in front of her. I made her sit up straight and said we don't kick someone else's seat because it's bothersome. I can't imagine allowing my child to do something to another person that would drive me up a tree if it happened. My standard is pretty much that. When I was young and didn't have kids, would X behavior annoy me? Now I know that there is kid behavior I'm able to tolerate that I hated pre-kids. But things like running around in restaurants and kicking chairs are just non-starters for me.

I saw some stupid parenting at BWI last week at baggage claim. One dad, who had a perfectly good and empty double stroller behind him with what I assumed were grandparents, had his three-year-old leaning on the carousel. I kept waiting for the kid to get clocked in the head by someone retrieving their bag. Another mom let her child, who was at least six, roll a toy car all over the floor and crawl after it. I can't even imagine what's on the floor of the BWI baggage claim area, not to mention the danger to someone who might step on the car as it zoomed across the floor. Maybe it's just that I've flown with my kids on multiple occasions, and often as the only adult, that I have the process down. Or I just use my common sense and think "hey, maybe having my kids face close to a moving luggage carousel isn't the best idea. Maybe she should be strapped into a stroller behind me." I'm not saying I'm a perfect parent because I am not by any stretch. But I'd like to think I'm not a selfish or moronic one.

 

[johnsonet]

I agree. Can't tell you how many times over the last week we saw kids in the Parks, at the hotels, on the Monorail, at the pools etc etc just walk away from the parents and when the parents said something like "Sally--come back here" or 'Wilbur, time to get out of the pool" the kid just said "NO"!!! And kept on walking!! Or swimming!! And the parents just looked like "oh well"---and did nothing.

Ah, yes. My favorite. More people than not seem to have the attitude, "There's nothing I can do..."
I don't understand the mentality of parents who don't shut their loud/whiny/crying kids up in public places. Blows my mind.
Any kid who - for even a millisecond - would think it was ok to STAND on a table in a restaurant (of any kind) may as well be from another planet.

 

[GillianP1301]

When your kids refuse to behave in a restaurant you take them out of it. It's that simple. My 5 year old is going through a temper tantrum phase and yesterday he decided to throw one in a restaurant. When he refused to calm down I grabbed him (not easy because he's tall for his age) and took him out to the car while my nine year old politely stayed there and ate. Once the 5 year old calmed down I took him back inside and had him apologize to his brother for his rudeness and bad behavior.

I totally agree with this. I will never forget when my son was about 2 1/2 (he's now 8) and we were at a sit down restaurant (nothing fancy, family friendly place) and my son totally lost it right when our food was brought to us. He flung his plate on the floor and was wailing. My husband picked him up, took him outside, loaded him in the car and that was the end of dinner. I stayed and tried to help clean up while I apologized profusely and put our meals in take away containers. Not a chance I was going to make everyone else in there suffer any more with that display. That was really the only time that has ever happened, so lesson well learned. Sure he still needs the odd reminder to watch his manners or to hold the knife the right side up, stuff like that, but he's generally pretty well behaved in restaurants.

 

[GingerFyre]

It's stuff like this that really makes me nervous for my upcoming trip. I am not a fan of children much at all, NEVER want any. And I can't stand parents that let their kids cause such a disruption because they want to be their kids' friend instead of an actual parent. I am a child of the 80s/90s and you can bet that if I acted up I would be worried the whole dinner/way home of the punishment I was going to get for it. I was a good kid because of how I was raised. You shouldn't be asking your children to stop/be quiet, etc. You should be telling them what to do! You're the adult and authority figure! If you can't figure that out then maybe you shouldn't have children.

 

[85glht]

Must be a relative of the woman at The Plaza that took out her electric shaver and shaved her legs at the table while we were dining.

This is one of those "I would have to see it to believe it" situations......... But I will take your word for it,lol

I am sorry you had to witness this. What is wrong with people?

 

[johnsonet]

...I had a parent recently tell me that their child has been taught since they were little that the only people their children have to listen to/obey is the parents. They don't want their children to be confused on who they have to answer to so they tell teach them they do not have to obey any adults...

 

[serenitynow]

I totally agree with this. I will never forget when my son was about 2 1/2 (he's now 8) and we were at a sit down restaurant (nothing fancy, family friendly place) and my son totally lost it right when our food was brought to us. He flung his plate on the floor and was wailing. My husband picked him up, took him outside, loaded him in the car and that was the end of dinner. I stayed and tried to help clean up while I apologized profusely and put our meals in take away containers. Not a chance I was going to make everyone else in there suffer any more with that display. That was really the only time that has ever happened, so lesson well learned. Sure he still needs the odd reminder to watch his manners or to hold the knife the right side up, stuff like that, but he's generally pretty well behaved in restaurants.

Every parent in the place was probably feeling empathy for you, since most had been in a similar situation before.

Once, long ago, when one of my little guys was almost 2, we were in a grocery store to get a prescription filled for his ear infection. We had both been up all night, me rocking my large, fussy, cranky toddler with an ear infection (that would be diagnosed the next day, hence the script). When they said it would take 20 minutes to fill the script, I knew I was in trouble.

He was past fussy and working towards a full down meltdown. Being trapped in the grocery for 20 minutes anyway, I picked up a few things and as soon as 20 minutes was up rushed over to pick up the script. Then I had to pick one of the only 3 open checkout lines to pay. As I stood in line with my baby in the cart acting up, I could feel every eye in the place on me, I was sure everyone was thinking I was a lousy mother who couldn't even control her own child. I thought about fleeing the store, but I had to stand in the line to pay for his medicine. By the time it was our turn, he was in full blown tantrum mode, trying to hurl himself out of the cart. I was frantically trying to hold on to him, calm things down and unload the cart.

Behind us was a well dressed older gentleman who had been watching us the entire time. He said, "Excuse me Miss," and pushed his way past us. As he began unloading my cart for me, he said, "it looks like you have your hands full". At that point, I burst into tears. He proceeded to tell me about his grown children and what hellions they had been as little ones. But that it all was going to be all right, you just have to put your head down and get through it. Then he PAID for my groceries and medicine! As he walked away, he said "Don't worry, someday it will all be worth it when you get to hold your grand babies in your arms."

I think about that gentleman every time I see a typical toddler meltdown and parents scrambling to get it under control. And you know what, he was right- the grand babies are worth all the toil and trouble!

 

[cornflkgrl]

Sounds like a stressful way to vacation. I seldom notice other families really or other people's children for that matter, unless the parents are being verbally abusive or giving their kid a public beating -- which I've heard and seen on vacation more than once.

My own kids take enough watching I try to put blinders on as far as what other people are doing. It would just raise my blood pressure and everyone is entitled to their own parenting style. With the exception of health and safety codes, but I would report those things to the restaurant and let it go. Considering reporting bats flying around a restaurant got "meh" from the waiter though, I doubt they are being paid well enough to argue with a guest over parenting decisions.

 

[Aliceacc]

Sorry, the quotes aren't working for me this afternoon.

On page 1, Mckennarose said: "A few months ago I replied on a thread here about a young child I observed in Cosmic Rays walking on the partition wall between booths while the parents kept on eating and encouraging him. If you've seen those partitions, they're higher than table height and it was a very unsafe to allow, yet alone encourage. My post got quoted by someone who went on to say I was being judgemental, or something to that effect, lol!"...

Every single day, we make hundreds of judgements. We make judgements on our own behavior, on the behavior and the choices of others, on too many things to name.

And if you're failing at your job of parenting, then, yes, I'm going to judge you.

Parents who struggle with a child who is having a bad day-- think the kid crying in the supermarket while mom is finishing packing the groceries-- have my sympathies. And if your kid is in a full blown tantrum, I'll try to jolly him out of it... a few weeks ago, I asked if I could open a bag of cookies I had just bought to offer to a toddler having a very bad day. The mom was incredibly grateful. Hey, we've ALL been in those shoes!!!

But parents who choose not to parent, well, yes, you had better believe I'm going to judge you. And the judgement won't be a good one.

And more bad news: when your precious little snowflake is 7, she's not going to be invited to my house for a playdate. And when she's 13, she's not going to the movies with my kids, who are also judgemental when it comes to inappropriate behavior.

The reality is that parenting is a hard job. Anyone who has kids and who has successfully parented them for more than a day recognizes that. But you don't get to opt out. And if you think it's hard with a 6 year old, then take a look into the future and imagine that same undisciplined child 10 years later. If he chooses not to listen at 6, and that's OK with you, then you're going to be in desperate straits when he's a teen.

 

[tropicalstorm]

I'm curious as to why none of the CMs said anything. ....... And why would the staff allow it? What is wrong with people?

as long as servers have to rely on tips to pay their wages, they are never going to speak up and aggravate guests no matter how bad their behavior is.

 

[MammaMoe48]

Every parent in the place was probably feeling empathy for you, since most had been in a similar situation before.

Once, long ago, when one of my little guys was almost 2, we were in a grocery store to get a prescription filled for his ear infection. We had both been up all night, me rocking my large, fussy, cranky toddler with an ear infection (that would be diagnosed the next day, hence the script). When they said it would take 20 minutes to fill the script, I knew I was in trouble.

He was past fussy and working towards a full down meltdown. Being trapped in the grocery for 20 minutes anyway, I picked up a few things and as soon as 20 minutes was up rushed over to pick up the script. Then I had to pick one of the only 3 open checkout lines to pay. As I stood in line with my baby in the cart acting up, I could feel every eye in the place on me, I was sure everyone was thinking I was a lousy mother who couldn't even control her own child. I thought about fleeing the store, but I had to stand in the line to pay for his medicine. By the time it was our turn, he was in full blown tantrum mode, trying to hurl himself out of the cart. I was frantically trying to hold on to him, calm things down and unload the cart.

Behind us was a well dressed older gentleman who had been watching us the entire time. He said, "Excuse me Miss," and pushed his way past us. As he began unloading my cart for me, he said, "it looks like you have your hands full". At that point, I burst into tears. He proceeded to tell me about his grown children and what hellions they had been as little ones. But that it all was going to be all right, you just have to put your head down and get through it. Then he PAID for my groceries and medicine! As he walked away, he said "Don't worry, someday it will all be worth it when you get to hold your grand babies in your arms."

I think about that gentleman every time I see a typical toddler meltdown and parents scrambling to get it under control. And you know what, he was right- the grand babies are worth all the toil and trouble!

It's one thing when you're in the store and need to buy something or are already on line, and you're only there for a short time. Things happen, I think most people understand this. It's a totally different thing when you are in a restaurant or theater or someplace by choice and let your child act up and dusrupt other people's enjoyment.

 

[PoohsFan1]

Ask for a check and leave. But no, the kid was crawling all over mom bawling and she was calmly eating her soup. I guess they're used to it but in case it's news, the rest of the world is not used to your child's theatrics.

We had the same thing happen to us while dining at Kona Cafe last October. We were having lunch and right next to us was a table with 2 very small children and their parents. The kids were screaming and crying non stop, like bloody murder screaming and crying, all while the parents just sat there eating their food and talking to each other, it was as if they didn't hear or was tuning the kids out really well. DH was getting so perturbed and kept glaring at the parents and loudly talking to me about how they should take care of the kids because he was getting a migrane. Even a CM (who wasn't their waiter) came by and asked the kids what was wrong and offered them something to calm them down, but of course that didn't work. Now, we had a great meal at Kona Cafe and our server was nothing but awesome, it was the family next to us that made the experience horrible.

 

[21stamps]

I wish Florida state law kept minors out of WDW bars and lounges. I'd be all for it. We were at the Belle Vue Lounge at the Boardwalk Inn enjoying a pre-dinner beverage. Scenario: two kids running around, laughing/screaming and touching the stuff on the walls while the parents sipped their cocktails. They said absolutely nothing to them. Totally ruined our pre-dinner plans.

I don't want this law!!!!

What I do think should happen is that people should be asked to calm their children, or to leave, if they are disturbing others.

But I love Trader Sam's, and there is only a small window of time that I can take my child before it becomes 'adult only', we both enjoyed it and will do again on our next trip. Please don't take that away from me

 

[disnut8]

This doesn't have to do with restaurants but with raising kids the way you want them to behave. My husband, son and I were walking on the Mall in Washington DC (we lived nearby and it was a frequent weekend trip). My son was about six or so and he saw an almost teenage boy finish something he was eating and his parents told him to drop the wrapper on the ground so someone else could pick it up. My son had walked the beach in Biloxi, MS with his father and they picked up a lot of trash (before casinos were there). So, my son knew not to litter. Without a word to or from us, my son went over, picked up the wrapper and touched the boy on the arm and said "excuse me, but I think you dropped this - the trash can is over there". Then he came back to us and the look on the parents' faces and that boy's face was priceless. And the boy put the wrapper into the trashcan.

So yes, keeping your mouth closed is fine but making a small statement is beyond great.

 

[kniquy]

Some of these stories are insane!! If this is how these kids behave in public I'd hate to see how they are at home. I have twins who are 10 and a 3 yo. We are very mindful of how they behave and would take them outside if they were being disruptive. Thankfully we have never needed to. Sometimes i feel that i am too strict with my kids, but then again i cant tell you the number of times people have come up and complimented us on their behavior at restaurants. It is really so disrespectful of the parents to let their kids act like animals. Kind of can't blame the kids because they are just a product of their upbringing.

 

[cornflkgrl]

It's stuff like this that really makes me nervous for my upcoming trip. I am not a fan of children much at all, NEVER want any. And I can't stand parents that let their kids cause such a disruption because they want to be their kids' friend instead of an actual parent. I am a child of the 80s/90s and you can bet that if I acted up I would be worried the whole dinner/way home of the punishment I was going to get for it. I was a good kid because of how I was raised. You shouldn't be asking your children to stop/be quiet, etc. You should be telling them what to do! You're the adult and authority figure! If you can't figure that out then maybe you shouldn't have children.

People are free to parent the way they choose in the US. If someone chooses not to be an authoritarian, that is their perogative. If they choose gentle attatchment parenting that is also their prerogative. My parents didn't have to scare me as a child to inspire me to do what is right. And I was also a good kid because of how I was raised.

 

[gmboy95]

Well--I'd like to know what issue might possess a kid to climb up on a table in a restaurant and walk around it a few times while the family sat there and watched--

As quagmire said, once in awhile a kid will "get away" and the parents(good ones) are quick to notice and put a stop to it.

I refer you to the first line of my post