RANT- screaming babies in fancy restaurants

Right on, SSNM! Can I get a witness!!!

THANK YOU for not thinking my opinion makes me a monster...and for agreeing with the point that I was trying to make. It IS dangerous, and it ISN'T fair that I am the bad guy for not wanting to have/serve dinner in "Romper Room", either!

Christie I know exactly what you are saying. My mom waitressed for 30+ years and told us horror stories every night. Kids running up and down the aisles, running into the kitchen, and how degraded she felt every time she had to stoop down and clean up some kids mess off the floor after the family had left. This is one of the reasons I wanted her b-day to be extra-special.

My own cousin takes her 4yr old to eat out all the time and this kid will not stay seated. She needs to parade around the place and come back to the table for an occasional bite. They see nothing wrong with this. One waitress very nicely asked them to keep her seated so she wouldn't get hurt, and my cousin had the nerve to complain to the manager.

This isn't the kids fault, its the parents. The "oh he's so cute, he can do no wrong so just grin and bear it" attitude. Personally, it makes me sick.

I have no issues with kids and babies being at restaurants (not referring to a fast food establishment), but I do agree that if they start acting up (crying, screaming, taking a tantrum) to take them out until them calm down or take them home.

A restaurant isn't a playground for kids (unless it actually has one built in like McDonald's). There are hazards all around. And most people don't want someone that don't know coming over to their table (adult or child) and sticking their face (or fingers) at the table or food while they are having an evening out to themselves. Plus kids should not be going over to strangers so openly anyways, that's another situation that could be bad.

Kids need manners when they are out in that type of environment, and it's the parents responsibility to teach them that. And they need to handle with problems that are affecting those around them, not just expect people to accept it because kids will be kids because there are lots of kids that behave quite well in a mainly adult establishment.

Sorry if any of this might offend anyone, but sometimes it's difficult to say things on a forum without sounding rude because I'm not trying to be that way.

I agree with the OP in this case. While I applaud parents who are taking their children out to teach them how to behave in a restaurant or just to spend quality time together as a family, in my opinion 9:00PM at a very fancy/adult restaurant is not the time for this. If I go somewhere family friendly anytime, or even somewhere nice earlier in the evening, I have no problem with kids even if they're not being terribly well behaved (people who let their kids actually run around blow my mind though). In the situation you described, I would be pissed. I had something similar happen once when FI and I were out at our favourite place but in our case the parents took turns taking the baby out to try to calm her and I think people just felt sorry for them- at least they were trying. I think that the way the parents handle it makes all of the difference- it sounds like the people in your case just didn't care at all about everyone else there and that makes it so much worse.

Every time FI and I want to celebrate and be loud and drunk we pick locations that are full of drunks and loud. If I as an adult think ahead and pick locations that accommodate us then families should as well. How many times has one of your friends became the drunk obnoxious one and you took them home because it was starting to cause a scene? (I do understand that babies aren't drunk but you get my drift) It is the same situation. I agree that posting a sign saying no infants/drunk people is too excessive but geez have some courtesy for fellow patrons.

This has been a good thread! I agree that some parents really have to take more action when it comes to how their children behave in a restaurant. Whether the restaurant is "child friendly" or not, there is never an excuse to let your child run around and disturb people that are trying to do their job, or disturb others from enjoying their dining experiences. When it comes to babies... I think other diners are more sympathetic to the parents if they see that they are at least trying to fix the situation (by taking turns going outside, etc) That being said, I know being a parent is not all black and white, and I give credit to all parents out there!