Posted on 07/13/2011 7:26:05 AM PDT by markomalley
It hasn't been a banner year for the under-6 set.
Starting July 16, McDain's, a Pittsburgh-area restaurant, will ban children under the age of 6 from its dining area. Restaurant owner Mike Vuick said the policy came in response to complaints he'd received from older customers about kids causing a ruckus. In an email to his clientele, Vuick wrote, "We feel that McDain's is a not a place for young children … and many, many times they have disturbed other customers."
A few weeks ago, Malaysia Airlines announced that it would ban infants from flying in the first-class cabin because other passengers had complained about squalling babies. And last February it was rumored that Virgin Atlantic and British Airways had been pressured to consider child-free zones and even child-free planes to appease business travelers who, according to a travel survey, listed unruly children as their No. 1 travel-related complaint.
So, just when did our precious "pets" become everyone else's pet peeves? Are these bans even legal? Apparently yes. Federal law forbids discrimination on racial or religious grounds, but there is no blanket protection for children. For business owners like Vuick that means they can set the rules.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
My topper of a story was in a restaurant where a two year old was running around with her four year old brother. Both completely unsupervised. Full run of the restaurant, climbing on other tables, yelling, etc. Right until the two year old needed to relieve herself, which she proceeded to do, standing right in the middle of the aisle about 10 ft. from our table. #2, which she then picked up and started walking toward any adult she could find, with it held out in her hand, like “what do I do with this?” Poop and urine streaked down both legs. That’s when we got involved and got management. We certainly weren’t going to touch her and take a chance that her parents would file some kind of charges. The whole time the parents were completely oblivious. And even after they knew what had happened and saw the pile of poop on the floor, you would think they would have been apologetic or embarrassed, but no, they were ticked off that management had interrupted their lunch. They didn’t even offer to help clean up the mess.
It is usually
“HELLO! HELLO! ARE YOU THERE? I CAN BARELY HEAR YOU! YOU WANT A WHAT? A WHAT? STUPID PHONE DOESN’T WORK. MY WHAT? HEARING AID? NO, IT’S NOT IN. I SAID IT’S NOT IN. WHAT?”
You win. That’s more disgusting.
The guy next to me is running a Skype session with his family who are at home. I put the earbuds in and fired up Wiz Khalifa “Black and Yellow”. Problem solved.
I hear that. I was a stay-at-home mom for a lot of years. I used to tell people that I was very picky about who was rearing my children. I stood before God and took a vow that I would do everything within my power to rear my babies the way He'd want them reared. I took those vows very seriously. Have you seen that stupid cell phone commercial about "staying connected" that starts with the close up of the woman yakking away on her phone? Then it pulls back, and you see her, still yakking and laughing away, while she's pushing a small child on a swing in a park. She's not even looking at the child, just pushing with her free hand. Then, it comes up with "stay connected to what matters" or some such verbiage. It's a stunning indictment of our culture.
What if they had been busy all day doing for others and that was the only time they had to annoy you? I try to help them in the stores because I think of them like my parents. My mom died in 07 just 3 months short of being 103. Plus, that will be us one of these days.
You are a pill; appropriate name for sure. People didn’t drag their kids to restaurants and let them act like little brats. Really. I was there. Restaurants were a very big deal. People just didn’t have money to blow and charge cards were not ubiquitous, so you had to pay cash.
Ugh... I am not surprised. Incivility rules these days. And I think you summed it up nicely. The cafeteria/restaurants that allowed this should have been reported to the Health Department. THEY would care! E-Coli is not our friend.
I think kids will be kids and I LOVE kids. They should be able to run, yell, play games, and all the fun kid stuff. However, a parent’s duty is to teach children when kid stuff is appropriate and when it is not. Etiquette is a lost art, I’m afraid. As many on this thread have pointed out, whether it’s yakking cell-phone users to kids running around a plane to people changing a baby’s diaper in full view of dining patrons, suddenly the needs of the individual trump consideration of everyone else. Very sad, indeed. I know it’s nothing new, but it’s just so much more prevalent.
Many a sale has been lost from me due to exactly that! I HATE having to talk over loud music in a restaurant. One of the things Europe does do better than us. Another reason I like al fresco dining, which is limited here in Ohio, where I live (sigh). I have read a few good articles on “noise pollution,” and how this incessant bombardment of noise - from the beep-beep-beep of backing up trucks to the constant blaring of music in every store one visits. No wonder people are stressed and depressed these days. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. God knows we need peace and tranquility - at least in the good old U.S.A.
I'm usually in the middle of things watching and/or playing with my kids. Rest of the parents are surfing the web on their smart phones.
I've always wondered what makes them think that its more important to check their email for 50th time that day, rather than play with their kids? Fools, all.
And, as an aside, I never cease to be amazed at how - I duon't know what the right word is, Desperate, maybe? - some kids are just to have a grownup listen to them. I had one little boy fill in myself and my youngest on all of the latest "Transformers" robots at the park this past weekend. He was a real chatterbox>
I prefaced my post with and “I’m gettin’ old”....and, also...any person at any age who is helping others all day long with THEIR lives...is NOT old....I think you know what I’m talking about....(PS...people like my mother in law, who thinks the world owes her, who has been catered to for her whole life, and complains about how crowded it is when she goes shopping....well...duh....go when most people do NOT go.)
I can see having a bit of background music, to cover the kitchen clatter and keep patrons from thinking everyone else is listening in on their conversations. However, if you have to yell at the person next to you, something’s really wrong.
I would have insisted we go somewhere else Friday night, but one of the other restaurants in the same area had a live band, and the other was Thai, which we didn’t feel like at the time. The food in the place was okay, but I’m never going back.
I am in complete agreement!
Nice of you to punish the waitress for the management's policy.
Unreal.
Why not? It's a fantastic marketing tool. His business is going to go way up, IMO.
My sympathies. Now they've ruined my former favorite domestic airline, Continental.
I’d have said something to that stupid b.
We got grandson when he was six. Months later, we were at the National Fairgrounds here in our state when a man approached us and asked if we lived in a large town in the next state. Turns out that grandsons mother had taken him out, with her other spawn too, and a current boyfriend, to a fish restaurant down there, and grandson had wandered over to this man’s table and spent almost an hour visiting with him and his companions.
Ten years later, I’m still appalled. He’s 17 now and still safe and sound (and with better manners)
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