Do you bring your babies to the restaurant?

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njmp
njmp Posts: 277 Member
in Chit-Chat
Hello all. I was just writing a tripadvisor review for a restaurant I ate at while on vacation, and it brought back the extremely unpleasant memory of the screaming baby in said restaurant. This restaurant was a pricey one, avg.$25 dollar a meal at least, an oyster house. The baby screamed and screamed and screamed. Admittedly, I do not have children. But when I do, I will not bring my baby to a high class restaurant. In my opinion, if you want to bring your baby out to eat with you, you should go to a child friendly restaurant: that's to say, they have a KIDS menu.

So just curious the get the opinions of parents out there. Not the first time my experience has been almost ruined by a screaming infant. Not only were they sreaming, the parents just let it sit in it's carrier and scream. And scream...you get the drift.
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Replies

  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
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    We only take our 18 month old out if it's during a time he would normally be eating.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    No. (They're grown now, but at the time, No.)


    This is very inconsiderate behavior by the parents. When this happens to me, I ask to speak to the manager. Then I politely let the manager know how disappointed (that is key, you don't want to be "angry", gotta be "disappointed") I am to have my special meal ruined.


    Most of the time, this results in either a discount from my bill, the manager talking to the parents and hushing the kid, or both.
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    I would take a little baby, but if the baby were screaming I'd leave. Nobody's having a good time if the baby's upset, so I don't see the point in hanging out there letting the baby scream. I would not take a child who was old enough to eat solid foods, since as you said, there's no kids' menu.

    For me, when my kids were newborns, they were kind of like... an appendage. They went everywhere with me. We didn't leave them with babysitters. I wore them in a wrap and just went to normal places. But I made a point not to go out when it was naptime, or if the baby wasn't feeling well, and if the baby did get upset and was inconsolable, I'd go to a quiet place to try to get them calmed down. And if I couldn't calm them down, we'd just go home. That's parenting. It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time. And your job as a parent is to keep your infant feeling safe and secure, not stressed out just because you're too bratty to give up your dinner.
  • Stefanie99
    Stefanie99 Posts: 45
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    I don't like fancy restaurants and so only ever took my son to family-friendly restaurants; however, if I knew there was a chance my child might act that way, I definitely would not take him to a not-family-friendly restaurant, just out of respect for other patrons....same as a movie theater (except for kids movies, obviously), or any other place where you wouldn't expect to be interrupted by screaming children.

    But my son never did that. I guess I was blessed, but he never screamed in restaurants or threw tantrums in the store. THANKFULLY. :smile:

    (Added: I also never took him during naptime, or late at night, or when he was sick, etc, otherwise yes, he might have been a screaming infant if I had done that, lol.)
  • teeley
    teeley Posts: 477 Member
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok
  • LonLB
    LonLB Posts: 1,126 Member
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    The way you describe your experience sounds pretty awful.


    However (and I'm not saying this is the case with you) I hate it when a kid is being a kid, and someone is rolling their eyes or sighing or whatever. My children are BEYOND polite and behaved in public. And I'm not sure I remember anyone doing this to us. But I have witnessed a kid be a kid, not overly obnoxious or anything close to that, and someone having a flipping fit about it.
  • Stefanie99
    Stefanie99 Posts: 45
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok

    I care how other people's experiences are. To a point. I would hope that someone sitting near me in a restaurant would mind their P's and Q's so as not to disrupt other patrons, and I do the same. It's common courtesy in my opinion.
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok

    I care how other people's experiences are. To a point. I would hope that someone sitting near me in a restaurant would mind their P's and Q's so as not to disrupt other patrons, and I do the same. It's common courtesy in my opinion.

    My point is though that I'm going to calm my child down in a quiet, private area, not because of the other patrons, but out of concern for my own child. Child trumps other adults. But the result is the same -- no screaming baby in the restaurant.
  • supahstar71
    supahstar71 Posts: 926 Member
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    No. Most restaurants don't allow dogs. :ohwell:
  • LonLB
    LonLB Posts: 1,126 Member
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok

    I care how other people's experiences are. To a point. I would hope that someone sitting near me in a restaurant would mind their P's and Q's so as not to disrupt other patrons, and I do the same. It's common courtesy in my opinion.


    Yep.
  • teeley
    teeley Posts: 477 Member
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok

    I care how other people's experiences are. To a point. I would hope that someone sitting near me in a restaurant would mind their P's and Q's so as not to disrupt other patrons, and I do the same. It's common courtesy in my opinion.


    Yep.

    double yep yep!!
  • Stefanie99
    Stefanie99 Posts: 45
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    It's not even about the rest of the patrons, because frankly I couldn't care less. It's about the fact that clearly your child is unhappy, and you should try to solve the problem, since young babies don't cry unless there's a reason. And sometimes, that reason is simply that they dont' want to be in a busy restaurant because they're feeling stressed and need some quiet time.

    ^^ don't really care how your experience is, but if my baby is screaming I will tend to her and make sure she is ok

    I care how other people's experiences are. To a point. I would hope that someone sitting near me in a restaurant would mind their P's and Q's so as not to disrupt other patrons, and I do the same. It's common courtesy in my opinion.

    My point is though that I'm going to calm my child down in a quiet, private area, not because of the other patrons, but out of concern for my own child. Child trumps other adults. But the result is the same -- no screaming baby in the restaurant.

    Yes of course, child trumps anyone else. :smile:

    The way you describe your experience sounds pretty awful.


    However (and I'm not saying this is the case with you) I hate it when a kid is being a kid, and someone is rolling their eyes or sighing or whatever. My children are BEYOND polite and behaved in public. And I'm not sure I remember anyone doing this to us. But I have witnessed a kid be a kid, not overly obnoxious or anything close to that, and someone having a flipping fit about it.


    As a customer, I must say, I do really appreciate the parents who make an effort to calm their children down, whereas I have been guilty of the eye-rolling when a parent does nothing. BUT I don't think I overreact to normal children things....I just eye-roll or heavy-sigh when the child NEEDS tending to and the parent is oblivious or just doesn't care.
  • creech6317
    creech6317 Posts: 869 Member
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    I was took my kids out to eat when they were little, otherwise how will you teach them how to act at different places. That being said, they need to old enough to understand when you are trying to correct them if they are doing something wrong. A tiny baby doesn't understand that crying may be annoying to others, but the parents do and they should have taken the baby out of the dining area.
    I think it is rude for parents to think just because they have a baby and want it with them at all times that everyone else wants to hear their kids throwing a fit. Sorry I don't want to hear it.
  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
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    No. Most restaurants don't allow dogs. :ohwell:

    This. Lol.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,739 Member
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    No. (They're grown now, but at the time, No.)


    This is very inconsiderate behavior by the parents. When this happens to me, I ask to speak to the manager. Then I politely let the manager know how disappointed (that is key, you don't want to be "angry", gotta be "disappointed") I am to have my special meal ruined.


    Most of the time, this results in either a discount from my bill, the manager talking to the parents and hushing the kid, or both.

    Wow, you definitely should not be getting a discount. The parents have a right to eat there too. If you don't like it, eat somewhere else.

    With that said, I would not bring my child to an expensive restaurant, but Red Lobster, Chili's, Diners? Yes.
  • LonLB
    LonLB Posts: 1,126 Member
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    I think it is rude for parents to think just because they have a baby and want it with them at all times that everyone else wants to hear their kids throwing a fit. Sorry I don't want to hear it.

    That's a fact.
  • beach_please
    beach_please Posts: 533 Member
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    We take our kids out to eat a lot. We usually go to family-friendly places. It happens sometimes that we'll take them to more upscale restaurants BUT, if one of our kids is acting up, either me or my husband would take them out of the restaurant. I can't remember a time we've ever had to do that, even when they were really little but I wouldn't want to sit next to a screaming child either.
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    I agree. For a family restaurant, I took/take my son all the time, and I pretty much expect it to be noisy and/or baby friendly. However if I'm paying $25 a plate minimum and it's a nice, upscale restaurant, I think it's totally inappropriate to bring young children. No kids menu? Then that place probably isn't for children.
  • stepharega
    stepharega Posts: 211 Member
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    :bigsmile: haven't you seen the movie Friends with Kids ?
  • nosey_rosey
    nosey_rosey Posts: 380 Member
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    We have 4 boys.... I would NEVER take them to a upscale place!! Now when it comes to Denny's or chili's I would. They are surprisingly well behaved kids so we probably wouldn't have an issue at a upscale place. We know our roll... people go to the fancy shmancy places to enjoy a night without the kids... not to be bugged by mine =)))

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