Pet Peeve with Small Children
There was a time when parents brought their children to restaurants onlywhen the child had reached a suitable age and had a grasp of proper tablemanners. However, today, this unspoken code seems to have vanished and oneis just as likely to see a week-old infant drooling at the next table orexperience a two-year old's tantrum than not. And moreover, it appearsthat parents not only bring their small infants and children to restaurantsregardless or their age or time of night, but the parents are apparentlyvoid of any skills of discipline and parental tact, as well as commoncourtesy to other diners and the restaurant staff. A dining experience at a local favorite will likely include toddlersrunning through the dining area, weavin
At times it is impossibleto hold a single thought, much less a conversation due to some childcrying. One would think thatat the first whimper, the parents would take the child outside to quiet himor her. More than being annoying and distracting, children who are allowed torun around as if the dining area were their backyard, pose a high risk toservers and management, as well as other patrons. Parents of small children should be aware that there is a largesegment of the population who go to restaurants, not only to enjoy goodfood and company, but often to escape their own small children at home. Itis an accident waiting to happen, bringing with it possible injury and then avery probable law suit. And all the while theparents or grandparents or whoever brought them, calmly finish their foodand drinks, seemingly oblivious to the fact that their children are runningrampant through the restaurant. g in and around as if the tables andchairs had been set up specifically for their enjoyment, their own specialobstacle course, their own special playground. Moreover, parents should not bring their children to restaurants late atnight, children should be asleep in bed at ten o'clock at night, notcausing chaos in a dining establishment somewhere. What if a toddler who isreeling through the tables collides into the legs of a server who iscarrying a tray of food and drinks, causing four meals to go flying throughthe air, and landing at anyone's guess' What if someone is injured' Andin particular, what if the child is injured' An undisciplined child in a restaurant is more than a nuisance. Not only are the children disturbing otherdiners but servers loaded down with trays of food and dishes are forced toside-step in order to dodge them Then there are the parents who pretend to be deaf, ignoring theblood curdling screams of their infants or toddlers. One would think that if one's child was screaming in the middle ofa restaurant, whether gourmet or a local hamburger joint, that the instinctof common courtesy would force a parent to appreciate the fact that thereare many other people around who are not deaf.
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