Which is precisely why certain establishments cater to parents with young children acting their age:
And certain restaurants cater to parents who want a quite and enjoyable meal:
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.
It IS amazing how certain foods affect behavior. But it becomes a battle of wills that many (weak) parents give up on after trying awhile. And school food service folks may give it lip service, but won't do the hard work of changing to less ADHD-inducing foods. Sad.
The American diet is different than 50 years ago -- corn snacks and breakfasts, corn in almost everything instead of other sugars and starches, petroleum based colorings, the overabundance of empty sugar/starch/colored foods. Compare this dietary change over time with the rise of ADD/ADHD. But, no one seems to want to spotlight this; it means fighting drug companies and corn/diary industry lobbies.
They're also now finding that corn syrup sweetener (cheap) also makes us fatter than sugar (beet or cane).
No child should be left alone in a car. NO CHILD. NEVER.
You need to go back and carefully review my posts. My position is clear and I'm not gonna get in a pissing contest with you. I'll also let you have the last word.
That is a MAJOT probel here in leftist New England. Many of the 'adults' are chronologically thirty years old, but are roughly five or six mentally. It is an amazing cultural phenomenon...undisciplined brats growing into undisciplined adults. Frightening.
Good.
Keep the brats quiet!
Yep. We used to leave our car and house unlocked, too. When sent to the car, it was close to the restaurant and watched. Not out of sight in a mall lot or such. And I'm not talking about a toddler that would be fearful, but an older child choosing to misbehave who can appreciate that particular discipline of disassociation. You know, I'm finding I really crave nuanced adults.
Good. I hope business continues to 'boom'.
Oh, my bad, I thought this article was talking about toddlers and what not. I didn't know that 17 year olds still use the term "indoor voices".
My 4 year old son behaves, but sometimes can be unruly as most toddlers and young children can be.
But I digress because apparently I misread the article and we're suppose to be talking about teens.
Really? Please explain to me how you discipline a 1 year old baby?
I have no interest in reading any of your posts which were not a direct response to a comment of mine.
You're decision not to engage in a "pissing match" is certainly the correct one.
You misinterpreted my first comment and you've been wrong ever since. You don't have a leg to stand on.
excuse me. i am sure you have little darlings. just forget i addressed you.
My husband and I were enjoying one of those fancy-schmancy Sunday brunches at a hotel in Las Colinas not long ago. The two of us were seated at a table normally used for 4, and we were seated adjacently, facing in toward the restaurant rather than toward the door. We had gone through the buffet line and had been seated, enjoying our meal for about 45 minutes, deeply engrossed in conversation and our food, and not really looking around.
We stood to get dessert and were very surprised to find a family of 5 seated at the directly behind us. We'd never even been aware they were there. It was the parents and 3 children, probably ages 3, 5 and 6, and judging from their plates, they'd been there a while. They were quiet as mice and engaged in quiet family table talk. The kids were conducting themselves very well, and the little 3 yr old girl was buttering her own bread and using her bread plate. We lingered over the dessert buffet, partially trying to decide and partially watching this family in amazement from the corner of our eyes. The mother, we noticed, was taking the time to individually escort each child back to the buffet, individually assisting each child, etc., while the father did the same.
Children can and should be controlled and disciplined and should be taught to be considerate of others. When I was a child, we would sit politely and quietly and often watch the kids around us running about uncontrollably. I often wondered what made us different, but it was attention and close discipline (seldom needed) on behalf of my parents.
That is too funny. Yes, discipline the one year old. Be stern and teach her that being loud and throwing things will get an immediate negative reaction. If you don't do it now then she'll be an obnoxious brat in no time.
I have two kids, 4 and 5. I know whereof I speak.
It's funny because I have hit the gold mine for all the greatest parents in the world. It's right here on FR. In r-life I have yet to meet parents that have not had their great kids act up at an inappropriate time. They're obviously all bad parents because one time they're kids misbehaved while they were in a restaurant.
Because I figure it will work better than trying to explain to her why she should be quite. Or it will be better than spanking her.
Exactly!
We're teaching her the same way we taught our son. Believe it or not, our son is a tornado...when he is at home. Once we go out he is quiet and well-behaved.
Which is precisely why certain establishments cater to parents with young children acting their age:
And certain restaurants cater to parents who want a quite and enjoyable meal:
LOLOL! My younger brother was trying to design a "death ray" that would reduce "annoying drivers and their cars" to a "steaming pile of smoldering ash", but he couldn't come up with a power source small enough to keep the fuel costs down on his Trans Am. A real shame. :-)
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