Posted on 11/10/2005 5:42:34 AM PST by ellery
CHICAGO, Nov. 8 - Bridget Dehl shushed her 21-month-old son, Gavin, then clapped a hand over his mouth to squelch his tiny screams amid the Sunday brunch bustle. When Gavin kept yelping "yeah, yeah, yeah," Ms. Dehl whisked him from his highchair and out the door.
Right past the sign warning the cafe's customers that "children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices when coming to A Taste of Heaven," and right into a nasty spat roiling the stroller set in Chicago's changing Andersonville neighborhood.
The owner of A Taste of Heaven, Dan McCauley, said he posted the sign - at child level, with playful handprints - in the hope of quieting his tin-ceilinged cafe, where toddlers have been known to sprawl between tables and hurl themselves at display cases for sport.
But many neighborhood mothers took umbrage at the implied criticism of how they handle their children. Soon, whispers of a boycott passed among the playgroups in this North Side neighborhood, once an outpost of avant-garde artists and hip gay couples but now a hot real estate market for young professional families shunning the suburbs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Parents are totally to blame. I call it 'day-care' parenting. They spend so much time away from their kids they don't know how to be parents. I have seen amazing things. And now they want to BOYCOTT?? I'm sending that guy my business.
A very good business philosophy, IMHO. How much should his other customers have to put up with from obnoxious, undisciplined kids whose parents won't (or can't) control their behavior in public?
My daughter knows that when she gets the crooked finger and an invitation to step outside, she's overstepped the bounds.
Children want to behave. Unfortunately many have never been told how.
She goes so SHE can relax, nevermind the fact that her children screaming make it so that others don't have the opportunity to relax as she had.
I say good for the owner. Hopefully whatever business he loses from parents who are offended that they're expected to make children behave in public is offset by others who'll appreciate a quieter atmosphere.
My dad controlled our voices every minute of the day. Of course, he had a size twelve boot. And wasn't afraid to plant it in our @ss.
Silly woman. Do you think the other patrons are enjoying their dining experience while your children are screaming? Please!
When I lived in PA, my favorite restaurant wasn't the one with the best prices or even the best food. It was our favorite because they had child and no child seating.
Thought it was the best business decision.
I had a child who didn't do public outings well. She was disciplined well and a beloved child. But she was awful in public. I just learned to stay at home for a few years and if we needed to be out, we went to places that were naturally noisy where she could blend in. Some children just do this, although I suspect that it's not the usual case. Parents need to realize that while their children are in those difficult years that they need to make adjustments in how they do things.
My wife is Japanese and she is appaulled by the behavior of kids in the U.S. and lack of parental participation in disciplining them. Over there, if a kid was acting up like that, everyone would be telling the kid to behave and the mom would be too embarassed to be in public. Many parents here are just too selfish and self-centered to think that their child either a) is doing anything wrong or b) that the rules do not apply to their children because they are more special. Kudos to this shop owner for taking a stand against these diva-wannabe moms.
We frequent an out-of-the way roadhouse for fried chicken and drinks. The owner (a NASCAR fanatic) has a sign prominently posted in the seating area (adjacent to the definitely non-PC bar with smoking) that says "Unattended children will be deep-fried and served as dinner". Needless to say, there are not too many Volvos or Baby Benzes (the favorite vehicle of young "professionals" who cannot afford a real Benz but don't want to save up and wait to finally get one, typical of today's "entitlement" GenXers) in the parking lot...if one does show up, the occupants usually don't return for a second time.
You got that right. I can be sitting in a restaurant having a perfectly lovely time with my child, and as soon as one of these "precocious" ones start acting up, she starts getting fidgety. It is usually then we have the discussion about how just because somebody else is doing something, it doesn't mean you can too.
Sign in my mechanic's shop: "UNATTENDED CHILDREN WILL BE SOLD AS SLAVES."
Yes, there is something you can do about children screaming. If they are screaming because they're hurt, you take them outside and see what the problem is. If they're screaming because they're tired, you take them home for a nap. If they're screaming because they're little brats, or they're bored, or haven't gotten their way about something, you take them out, swat their little fannies ONCE to get their attention, then look them in the eyes and tell them exactly WHY they are being taken home, and that if the behavior continues, there WILL be other consequences.
These parents seem to feel like they have some right to inflict their children on everyone else. Sure, they'd love to sit in a coffee shop like they used to, ruminating over the national news, or the latest psych trend, but they have parental responsibilities now, and they shouldn't assume everyone else is as in love with their little darlings as they are, even though they're obviously ignoring the behavior of those same little darlings while they're 'relaxing' over their coffee and pastries.
...and sent home!
i am a parent of 3 well behaved children and i know i have done my job well when we are out somewhere and we see brats carrying on and my kids look at me, roll their eyes and say, some chance you'd let US carry on like that! they recognize brattiness when they see it. i have zero tolerance for parents who do not discipline their children.
LOL! There is one of those signs at my hair salon.
AMEN!!
The customer is not always right. The customer's that you don't want are those that drive others away.
Brother! Is that you!
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