I have at times been crotchety in espousing my parenting values on this blog (aka Swooning for the 1950’s), so it should be no surprise that the NYTimes article about Chicago coffee houses requesting good behavior from their toddler patrons was one I couldn’t resist.
Here I clamber back up on my Crusty Soapbox.
Although “Hippie granola liberal” is how I am often described by my LA friends —I am no William J. Bennet when it comes to child rearing— I am right with Dan McCauley, owner of Taste of Heaven.
Screaming and running around should not be tolerated in a restaurant. Parents should not feel entitled to let their children ruin other’s dining experience simply because “kids are kids.” Although Mr McCauley’s slam on the appearance of the boycotting mothers as “former beauty queens and cheerleaders” was a cheap shot that makes him look petty, his point about parents with a “strong sense of entitlement” hit the mark. People need to understand that their children are the center of their world, not the world.
If you want to go somewhere to eat where your children can be maniacs, take them to McDonalds. The food is gross, and your kids can act gross too.
Any fellow crusties out there care to pile on?
Posted on November 9th, 2005 by Allison
Filed under: Uncategorized, Daily Life, Am I Crazy?
Great post Allison! I too cringe at the shrill of maniacal children running amok in ritzy restaurants or even casual cafes for that matter. The notion of parents just letting it continue on is enough to make me want to leave the establishment or go say something to that parent. I prefer the latter.
We have been to McDonalds with our 5 year olds about a dozen times over the years and not once have i had the urge to speak my mind to some other parent or my own offsping except just this one time… it was about a year ago when my daughter, excited by the other kids (noise), milkshakes (sugar), and bright primary colors (tube-o-matic) swiftly ran up behind another parent in the throes of biting down hard on a juicy old double-quarter pounder and screamed bloody murder (just for fun of course) into his ear for a record 6 continuous seconds. I remember rising to my feet in mere milliseconds but quickly regained composure after the man cleared the lodged, semi-chewed double quarter pounder monster bite from his throat. I noticed his face turning a deep red, not sure if this was an angry red or some form of lack of lack of oxygen red… regardless I remember telling myself “nothing to worry bout here, it’s McDonald’s and everything here is harmless!”