Posted on 11/14/2005 5:51:48 AM PST by Cagey
Parent Says Restaurant Offers Kid Food, So It Should Cater To Kids
"We were surprised at how many times we would see children really out of control," McCauley said. "And we actually had people leaving the bakery because the children were so out of control."
So, he put a sign on the door at kids' eye-level, asking children of all ages to use their "indoor voices."
"We thought it was just a friendly reminder to people that when they come here, just be considerate of the people around them. We had no idea the kind of controversy that was going to explode out of this," McCauley said.
But some parents who spoke with NBC5's Natalie Martinez took immediate offense to the sign. The angry mothers said there are plenty of places in the Andersonville neighborhood where they can take their kids, even if they're acting out.
"I've e-mailed friends and said, 'Just so you know, this man has a sign up. I know there are lots of other options, and I'd encourage you not to go there,'" parent Kate Bremmer said.
When she spoke with Martinez, Bremmer and her kids were picking out goodies at a Swedish bakery, where all kids are welcome.
"Our custom has been to offer a cookie to every child that comes into the store for as long as I can remember," said Kathy Stanton-Cromwell, the co-owner of the bakery, which is just a few doors down from A Taste of Heaven.
Stanton-Cromwell said the cookie serves as "a good calmer" for kids who are acting up.
Bremmer said A Taste of Heaven "is not a five-star restaurant," so she thinks it should cater to kids, not the other way around.
"They offer ice cream cones and cookies and lots things that kids love, and therefore, I don't think that they should make such an issue of it," Bremmer said.
Other parents enjoying lunch with their kids at A Taste of Heaven were more diplomatic.
"I have mixed feelings about it. It's a little off-putting," one mother said.
Linda Wallace, also a mother who eats at A Taste of Heaven, said she thought McCauley was "sort of brave" for putting up the sign.
"It did cross my mind that he might offend some people," she said.
McCauley said he loves kids, although he has none of his own. He said he has no immediate plans to take the sign down.
You are kidding, right? You surrendered to bratty behavior as "normal kid stuff" and let your bratty kids subject everyone on else around them to the same? Do you think they just learn manners by magic?
Only a few times did we have one adult take the misbehaving kids out of the restaurant while the other got the food wrapped to go and paid the check. Amazing how fast my kids learned that to go out and to eat in a restaurant, they must behave. They're now a pleasure to take out and we get lots of compliments on their manners. They're 7 by the way.
I think the problem goes much, much deeper than what's being assumed on this thread. My husband and I have been married 23 years and have 5 kids, ages 6 thru 16. They are all well behaved in public, we have gotten many compliments on their behavior, from strangers. I COULD NOT have managed this without my husband. I am a pushover, he is a strong disciplinarian. Children need 2 parents, people. Stop blaming the children, it ain't their fault.
I had a part time job as a school bus driver in my early twenties. If the kids on the bus were unruly or not sitting and if they were being loud/screaming, etc, I would warn them once and if it didn't stop, I wouldn't care where I was in my route (I had the longest route in the school system), I would turn around, drive ALL the way back to school, park the bus where I picked them up, wait for them to be quiet and then start out again. It only took a couple of times for them to figure it out. I probably wouldn't do well as a teacher in public schools :)
Having my oldest made me appreciate little ornery kids. Somehow, they always end up being my favorites even though they can test your patience and sanity!
Sounds like you haven't figured out that childbirth makes you DEAF.8-)
MAEETECTB ping
Parents need to take control and quit whining. I like kids, but there is a time and place for unrestricted play and the local eater ain't the place.
The poll is 97 vs 3 for YES! Not surprised.
I said gently, "It's not a good idea to give a baby a plastic bag to play with."
Her face turned brick red and contorted until I thought her eyeballs were going to explode. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY CHILD! WHAT ****ING BUSINESS IS IT OF YOURS! DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT YOU ****ING BITCH!"
Meanwhile the kid is gurgling and using the plastic bag as a hat.
AMEN!
Interestingly, as a HS teacher, I used to have kids tell me alot of things, including how easy their parents were to manipulate. They didn't want their Moms to be their best friends (they had friends). But they loved the fact that they could get whatever they wanted because their Moms refused to parent.
susie
Betting these moms are the type of people who are jabbering loudly into their cell phones without regard for the people around them.....
oh i see, you are new to parenting. well for starters, at that age you don't take them to the same sorts of places that you can when they are bigger and able to behave. My husband and i took turns taking our kids to church when they were that age, so that they would not disrupt the people around us. it is a mistake to believe that failure to behave is a manifestation of personality. don't buy into that. of course you can't discipline a one year old, but you can control where she goes and when bigger you can teach them where it is appropriate to be quiet. my kids are now 11, 14 and 17 and we have always gotten compliments on their behavior at restaurants and other places. and they sure as heck know bratty behavior when they see it exhibited by other kids. your child is a baby at 1 year old. don't confuse that with what we are talking about.
My kids have been taught since birth that even at home they sit still at the table, have conversation, do not sing, do not chant, do not throw anything, do not blow bubbles into their milk, do not whine about what is on their plate, do not bicker with each other, and say Grace before dinner. They clear the dishes when we are finished. Yes, it's a chore to teach this at every single meal, but that's what parents are for! And it pays off bigtime in the end.
Just the other night, we were out at a very nice restaurant after my daughter's piano recital, and my 8-year-old reminded us to say Grace. They were the only children in this restaurant and we got loads of compliments on their behavior. We can take them anywhere, but eating out is still a special treat to them.
If I was unruly, I'd have to go sit in the car while my Mom and Dad (gee, a set) ate. I'd either return on better behavior, or they'd bring out my food when they were done having a peaceful meal. Did the same successfully with mine a time or two.
"She's not following our rules so I guess we should discipline her, eh"
Um...yes. Where's the question? Rules are meaningless if you don't enforce them. And even 1 year olds can be disciplined.
If anything, childbirth gave me super powers. I can hear through the din, see through walls, leap over people in one bound to get the kid, and run faster than any childless person on the planet!
If some irresponsible parent allows their offspring to become a nuisance to me, I'll do whatever the law allows to remove that inconvenience from my presence.
If you have a problem with that, too bad.
After reading a story like this, I have a hard time judging a parent that doesn't act like everyone thinks they should.
Jury Convicts Mom In Chili Powder Death Trial
Irving Mother To Spend Up To 7 Years In Prison
POSTED: 5:27 pm CST November 10, 2005
UPDATED: 8:28 am CST November 14, 2005
DALLAS -- An Irving mother will spend up to seven years in prison for killing her baby daughter.
On Sunday morning, jurors convicted Angela DiSabella of manslaughter instead of capital murder.
DiSabella was on trial for suffocating to death her baby daughter, Kira DiSabella, with chili powder paste. She took the stand Thursday in her own defense.
DiSabella, who said she used the paste as a preventive for thumb sucking, said in court Thursday that her aunt told her to use chili to keep the infant from sucking her thumbs. DiSabella said she interpreted that to mean chili powder.
She said that she coated the infant's thumb with a paste of chili powder mixed with water about six times in one hour.
DiSabella said the baby was not crying, and that she thought the chili powder was working.
She told the prosecution that she did not think she was using an excessive amount of paste.
"I didn't think she was breathing it … I just didn't sit there and think, 'Hmm, I wonder where this (chili powder paste) is going. What it she doing with it?'" DiSabella said.
Paramedics who arrived at the scene after the child had stopped breathing said the chili powder had blocked the girl's air passages.
An attending physician at the hospital to which the girl was taken worked for about 30 minutes to revive the baby before pronouncing her dead.
The doctor told police he believed the child died before arriving at the hospital.
Prosecutors say the baby's father will also face charges, but aren't yet saying what they might be.
Heck, my boys were also characters. They were also civil little beings. When they needed to run around and act goofy, as kids like to do, we went to places like the park. But even there they understood that in order to live around other people, you didn't do certain things, like hit, bite, push, take things away, etc.
You would probably be amazed at what an early age children can start learning to be socially acceptable, enjoyable little people.
susie
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