Some people's kids and some people's parents.

[kelliem]

Went out to dinner this evening with kid-unit and housemate, to a local Italian restaurant we like a lot and eat at frequently. It's a nice place, pleasant atmoshpere, great food. Service was a little slow tonight because there was a huge wedding rehearsal dinner taking place in one part of the restaurant but that wasn't a big deal. Until the Birthday Party of Doom (hereafter TBPoD) arrived and were seated in the booth right behind ours. TBPoD was comprised of about 10 young women between the ages of 11 and 13. The parents of the birthday girl were seated at a different booth kitty-corner to TBPoD. We cut them some slack at first because we realized that TBPoD participants were excited and having fun, and exacerbating the problem was the fact that the section we were seated in has a low, stucco ceiling which reflects sound, but honestly, TBPoD was excruciatingly loud. To the point that it was physically painful. An elderly couple on the other side of us were clearly upset by the noise, and a family of five at a table near us kept openly staring at the TBPoD in amazement and dismay.

The waitress came out and refilled our water, wincing at the noise and quietly murmuring "sorry" as she did so. I kept trying to catch the eye of the birthday girl's mother, who was standing there talking to TBPoD and studiously ignoring my attempts. I finally raised my voice a little to ask if TBPoD could tone it down a bit. Mom continues to ignore me. TBPoD continue to shriek. Next thing we know, a spitball comes flying over the back of the booth and lands on the table, barely missing the housemate's water glass.

Kid-unit was incensed and stood up and reamed them out. I was pretty pissed off myself and asked the woman to put a leash on them. She continued to act like they were the only people in the restaurant, even though she could hardly have failed to notice that one of the kids she was supposedly chaperoning had just launched a spitball at us since she was standing there watching them at the time!

Right about then one of the busboys came by and asked us if we'd like to change tables. With great relief we agreed, and he gave us a table on the other side of the restaurant where we could finish our meal in peace, and both he and waitress and the manager all apologized profusely. The thing is, it wasn't their fault. It was the parents who were with the kids. And clearly they didn't give a damn. They never once indicated in any way that they thought TBPoD was out of line.

Amazing.

Comments

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

You'd almost think the manager would have figured that party was bad for business, and kick them the fuck OUT. Of course, then they'd complain to the owner and put his job in jeopardy, I suppose. Jesus Christ.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I didn't blame the manager, he did what he could, under the circumstances, and I saw him go over and speak to the mother after we moved. She probably ignored him too.

I know those girls are all going to go to school on Monday and complain about the fat bitch who ruined their party, but you know what? I don't care.

[bluster.livejournal.com]

I cannot believe the lack of common courtesy any more. I blame the mother as much, if not more, than the kids themselves. If I'd have even started to get that loud I would have been hauled out of the restaurant and birthday or no birthday that would have been the end of that.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

Amen. Same here. And when kid-unit was younger, you bet I'd have put the smackdown on any situation that was even vaguely similar. I was completely disgusted by the parents. Kids don't always have well-developed social skills but the parents damned well should.

[shiningmoon.livejournal.com]

Oh, that burns me up. Little cretins in training.

[rattlecatcher.livejournal.com]

#1
I was at a foodcourt with a friend, and these kids in the booth behind start yelling. My friend (who is the face and soul of courtesy - you look at him and know he'll be polite and kind) turns and asks the mothers present if perhaps --

"DON'T YOU TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY CHILDREN!" One of them starts yelling. It only got worse.

#2
I was working at a university library, and this little girl comes by with popcorn. She's little, but old enough to read, and I ask that she not take the popcorn into the library. At which point the girl's father comes up and yells at me for reprimanding his daughter. And of course, he wasn't going to have her not eat (because taking the kid outside for some food would mess up his study plans). And the students would always wonder why the place had cockroaches... But you know, I bet the cockroaches were in charge of their kids...

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

"DON'T YOU TELL ME HOW TO RAISE MY CHILDREN!"

The first thing that came to mind was, "Oh, so you ARE raising them. I just assumed you flung food in their rooms at night and hoped for the best."

[hoosier-red.livejournal.com]

Laser-guided ordnance. Seriously.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Parents like that are why there are so many rude children in the world... :( (This is the schoolteacher speaking. Sometimes I wonder about some students, and then I meet their parents.)

[dinahmt.livejournal.com]

There are really two issues here - the fact that the children felt they could behave like that while in a restaurant, and the fact that the restaurant owner/manager whatever allowed it.

There are provisions made for noisy children's parties in some places, separate rooms and entertainment etc, but these parents had chosen to take the kids into a proper restaurant which is an adult environment. It really says a lot about those kids' upbringing that they don't know how to behave in an adult environment at the age of 11! In my experience, most kids will respond to being reminded that they're in an adult place and should behave like adults.

The manager should really have been more robust. I bet he/she will have lost some business. After all, it's the manager's job to make sure that *all* his customers are comfortable. He could have given them fair warning, then told them to shut up or leave.