I am old. When I was a child, we were never taken out to eat, except for a drive-in. I think I was 11 or so and my brother was 7 before we were taken to a restaurant. I also remember my parents referring to prime rib as *roast beef* so we wouldn’t ask to order it, too.
Shopping meant we had our hands held by a parent at all times. They picked out our clothing. We were along for sizing, only. Any shenanigans and we were unceremoniously told our next stop was back to the car if we didn’t settle down.
In March, we did our yearly dinner at a top restaurant in our area. We went early to avoid some pending weather. Across from us were 4 adults with an absolutely beautiful 2 or 3-year-old. The kid sat on the floor, playing with an iPad, ran around the set up empty tables, handled the silverware and was, all in all, a brat. Everyone at her table simply smiled at her. Next time, we eat at an adult hour.
I am 25 years old and it sounds like I was raised in a similar fashion. My mom carried a wooden spoon in her purse at all times while we were still younger. She wouldn’t hesitate to pop us a couple of times with the spoon were we to step out of line. My dad would just give us that look that meant, “Keep it up and your backside will have a meeting with my belt when we get home.” He followed through on those threats. My brother has ADHD, or something similar, and I guess that was the overriding factor when it came to his behavior as a kid. They could spank him all they wanted and he never seemed to adjust his behavior. I guess my parents just decided it was best to stay home and let him mature a little. It seemed to have worked.