|
I live very close to a store that made national headlines a couple of years ago when they posted a note in the window that reads (and I'm paraphrasing) "Children of all ages are reminded to use their indoor voices". A few neighborhood moms took umbrage to it and, well, the New York Times picked up the story.
We've taken our boys there a few times - they have great ice cream. But if one of them starts to melt down (Max, more likely than not), then we leave. Pure and simple. He knows the rules, and part of parenting is teaching that actions have consequences. It sucks, and we've had to leave half-eaten meals. That said, if a place is "child-friendly" (and lots of places are), I would say that half of our melt-downs occur because the restaurant screws up, not our kids. We order food for kids as soon as the waiter/ress appears to get ahead of the curve, but if you wait 30 minutes for chicken fingers, something's wrong in the back room. I got in a shouting match over the phone with a restaurant manager about 2 months ago after we left after waiting 40 minutes for scrambled eggs for Max - all the other food came out, but not his. So as we left - with everything boxed up and ate at home. And they charged us for the eggs that never came.
In my house, meltdowns happen because someone's hungry, uncomfortable, bored or not feeling well. We can fix 3 of those easily in most cases. If we can't, we have to leave. If other parents can't understand that, shame on them.
Beyond that, this thread is just an excuse to bash anonymous people.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
|