Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

warrrreagl · 05-21-2003, 08:52 PM

This post is intended in the hopes that all of you who have children will take just a few minutes and consider somebody else's viewpoint for a change.

My wife and I will enjoy our 10th Anniversary next Thursday, so we've been spreading the celebration out over several days. Tonight, we went out to eat at our local Outback Steakhouse in order to enjoy a Bloomin' Onion.

The word "enjoy" never made it into our vocabulary tonight because of all the little screaming, obnoxious, undisciplined rugrats running around all over the place.

Since when did the word "restaurant" become a synonym for "playground?"

There were three separate groups of families sitting near us, and they completely ruined our night. One family actually brought a bag of toys for the kids to play with, and they dumped them out on the floor and allowed the kids to turn our section into a sandbox. Another group of kids played Hide and Seek nearby, using empty booths as hiding places. This game quickly degenerated into a simple Tag-You're It game, and they were soon running and screaming through the restaurant. The third group of kids sat at the table with their parents and yelled conversation back and forth to each other.

What happened to teaching kids decorum? Shouldn't that be an opportunity for the parents to teach that? One couple sitting nearby asked the parents of the second group to get their kids away from their booth, and the parents replied that they were just little kids.

Yeah, so? If they're old enough to go out, they're old enough to learn how to act when they go out. Otherwise, hire a damn baby-sitter, and let the rest of us enjoy our high-priced meals in peace.

And another thing; no matter how cute you parents think your kids are, none of the rest of us think so. We don't want to have to hear them at ear-splitting decibel levels describe their mashed-up foods. We want them to shut up.

Surprisingly, none of the restaurant staff made any attempt to speak to the parents about the kids, so I can only assume this is now normal behavior for kids in restaurants.

The next time the hostess asks me, "Smoking, or non-smoking?" I will reply, "I want the No Damn Kids section, please."

Are the rest of you experiencing this, too, or is it just us?

05-21-2003, 08:52 PM	#1 (permalink)
warrrreagl pinche vato Location: backwater, Third World, land of cotton	A Restaurant is NOT a Playground (rant) This post is intended in the hopes that all of you who have children will take just a few minutes and consider somebody else's viewpoint for a change. My wife and I will enjoy our 10th Anniversary next Thursday, so we've been spreading the celebration out over several days. Tonight, we went out to eat at our local Outback Steakhouse in order to enjoy a Bloomin' Onion. The word "enjoy" never made it into our vocabulary tonight because of all the little screaming, obnoxious, undisciplined rugrats running around all over the place. Since when did the word "restaurant" become a synonym for "playground?" There were three separate groups of families sitting near us, and they completely ruined our night. One family actually brought a bag of toys for the kids to play with, and they dumped them out on the floor and allowed the kids to turn our section into a sandbox. Another group of kids played Hide and Seek nearby, using empty booths as hiding places. This game quickly degenerated into a simple Tag-You're It game, and they were soon running and screaming through the restaurant. The third group of kids sat at the table with their parents and yelled conversation back and forth to each other. What happened to teaching kids decorum? Shouldn't that be an opportunity for the parents to teach that? One couple sitting nearby asked the parents of the second group to get their kids away from their booth, and the parents replied that they were just little kids. Yeah, so? If they're old enough to go out, they're old enough to learn how to act when they go out. Otherwise, hire a damn baby-sitter, and let the rest of us enjoy our high-priced meals in peace. And another thing; no matter how cute you parents think your kids are, none of the rest of us think so. We don't want to have to hear them at ear-splitting decibel levels describe their mashed-up foods. We want them to shut up. Surprisingly, none of the restaurant staff made any attempt to speak to the parents about the kids, so I can only assume this is now normal behavior for kids in restaurants. The next time the hostess asks me, "Smoking, or non-smoking?" I will reply, "I want the No Damn Kids section, please." Are the rest of you experiencing this, too, or is it just us? __________________ Living is easy with eyes closed. Last edited by warrrreagl; 05-21-2003 at 08:54 PM..