I get it, being a parent is exhausting, a lot of work. Parents sometimes just want to go out and try to feel somewhat like themselves again. And it’s a bonus if their friends or family have kids around the same age to play with, so the adults can actually get to talk. I don’t blame them for that. Everyone deserves to be able to go out and have a fun time.
But there comes a point where you need to be considerate of the people around you, and simply ignoring your children is not an effective parenting tactic. At some point when the kids are getting cranky, restless, fussy, and becoming a nuisance to the people around you, it’s time to go home, plain and simple.
My fiancé and I were out to dinner at a popular burger joint last night. It’s popular with families, so their are usually kids there. And honestly, aside from the occasional crying, we’ve never really had issues with out of control or unruly children there. Last night however, was not a great experience. We were sat next to a large group of several families with kids all at one table. It was clear everyone had finished eating, and the adults were all talking with each other, while the kids entertained themselves. Well it didn’t take long for these kids to get restless, tired, and cranky (it was after 7pm). One little girl was younger than the rest and was sitting in a high chair between her parents. She started screaming in an attempt to get their attention. I looked over to see mom sitting there on her phone, ignoring her daughter, while dad was talking with the other adults, also ignoring his daughter. No attempt was made to get her to stop screaming. She continued like this the entire time we were there. The other kids were getting more and more restless, and eventually decided they weren’t going to sit at the table anymore. They all got up and started chasing each other around the restaurant like it was a Mc Donald’s play place instead of a sit down location. They were getting in the way of servers, being loud and disruptive. And then they started rough housing in the middle of the restaurant. Of course this resulted in a few of the kids getting hurt and crying, and whining loudly on and off. I looked again over at the adults. All of them were completely unbothered and oblivious, some talking, some on their phones. None of them made a single effort to reprimand, or wrangle in their kids. Apparently to them, running around wildly in the restaurant like it’s a playground is acceptable behavior. At this point it’s been a while since they’ve finished eating and they still weren’t leaving. I said to my fiancé “you would think they would notice their kids are getting tired and misbehaving and take them home? I was never allowed to behave this way in public”. These parents gave zero fucks. It disrupted our entire dinner, these people literally just hung out there until we were getting ready to leave.
What also baffles me is that the restaurant was busy and them lingering prevented staff from being able to free up more tables and seat customers. I thought about asking for a manager, but I hate conflict and didn’t want to be accused of being a “Karen”. It just really makes me sad how inconsiderate some people can be. The last few years have been hard on all of us. What if some of the people there hand been out to eat since the pandemic started? Maybe they lost their job and couldn’t afford it. Now they finally can go out again and are met with a ruined dining experience because a group of very inconsiderate adults refused to take their kids home? I get it, parents want to go out too. Maybe they didn’t see their friends in a while. But come on, you can’t just ignore your kids and refuse to parent them. Why not invite your friends and their kids to your house after dinner if you want to keep socializing? This way you aren’t affecting other people around you. Basic manners are truly lacking in our society. When your child is getting restless tired and fussy, it’s time to go home, regardless of wether or not you want to. That’s all I have to say.