2. Be prepared to leave a restaurant as soon as your child starts acting up (own the problem and fix it).
3. Choose restaurants like Chuck E. Cheese where everyone behaves badly (make appropriate choices).
Agree. When our children were young we made the decision that we would not inflect them on people trying to enjoy a dinner out and only took them to fast food joints. Worked well. By the time we figured they were trained enough to enjoy a meal in a restaurant with civilized people, they were all three out of high school and really were pretty well mannered. Except for only one or two occasions.
I have done exactly that. Only had to do it once. “Settle down or we will go out to the car and wait for everyone else to finish. “ My child did not, so we left. Sat in the car with no toys no radio, no food. “Will mom bring my dinner home?” - “No. You don’t get dinner tonight. Neither do I, I’m sitting out here with you. “
You have “hit the nail right on the head.”
Back in the day when I was a child and even into the early 60’s a screaming spoiled child in a public place was severely frowned upon and not tolerated by management or society.
Now, they can do what they want and where they want and their parents could care less as to who’s meal or entertainment is ruined.
I’ve observed this situation getting worse each year and have found the “trigger” that starts the little spoiled rats screaming and it is the word “NO!” As soon as that word is spoken the screaming begins.
Back in my day bad behaviour was met with a painful experience administered to my posterior.