We didn't go out to eat a lot when I was a kid for economic reasons, but when we did, I was expected to behave. I had to sit still and be quiet. Oh, I didn't have to sit there with my hands folded and my mouth pinned shut like some Victorian kid; I could bring a stuffed animal or a small toy to play with, and conversation was just fine. But going out was a special occasion, and I was expected to be considerate of the other people in the restaurant or coffee shop.

These days, though, you'd think a restaurant was a playground for some kids. I remember we didn't go back to Italian Oven for over a year after that little boy was allowed to run loose around the long table where the rest of his family was having dinner, bumping into the waiters and screaming, and the only reason any of the rest of them finally said anything was when the kid crawled under a booth where a family was having dinner, hitting them in the legs. And then that person was clueless enough to ask, "Oh, is he bothering you?"

Not to mention the mother I mentioned several months ago who sat through dinner at Home Town Buffet for over a half hour watching and doing nothing while her kid sucked on a salt shaker!

I'm sorry these parents are so "kid-centric" that they are blind to the fact that their kids are being rude. "Oh, he's just little" doesn't wash. Poor children many years ago managed adult tasks on a daily basis because children are not stupid, so it is not unrealistic to expect them to learn a few basic manners (and one does not have to resort to beating or emotionally abusing them as was done back then).

Besides abusing the rights of the others, have these parents even though of the dangers of letting their kids run loose like this? Bumping into waiters at restaurants or patrons of coffee shops make them vulnerable to hot foods, sharp utensils, or heavy trays and plates falling on them. They could slip on the floors or whack their heads on corners of tables. Wandering around on hands and knees picks up germs and dirt. Some decorative plants are poisonous.

But when any of this happens, the parents will sue the establishment, instead of admitting they made a mistake letting their child run loose. Restaurant owners and patrons are not babysitters and were never meant to be.

War on Brats

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 8:17:00 AM

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