To get pissed off at children running around in restaurants?

[CelticPixie]

We went out for lunch today and there was a large group sat behind us. It was obviously a family celebration with parents, grandparents, kids etc. A little boy from the group who must have been around two was running around our part of the restaurant screaming and shouting and getting under the feet of waiting staff carrying hot food etc. He also kept approaching people at other tables and kept asking them if they were having their dinner and what they were having. At no point did his parents do anything to stop him and they just kept on smiling at him, but it was obvious that he was getting on everyone else's nerves.

Its a family friendly place and there were lots of other small children in there but he was the only one running about and being a nuisance. I will NOT allow my DDs to run about and disrupt others people's meals and it pisses me off that other people have so little consideration for anyone but themselves. If mine wants to go to the loo one of us takes them, if they are bored we take them out to the play area. It's really not hard is it?

i thought sn kid was short for snotty nosed kid lol , now i know what it is ,can someone tell me what is wrong with saying special needs children please ?

Because 'SN kid' is defining the child by their disability and 'kid with SN' isn't.

It is a touch of semantics but is fair enough really.

never even thought of it like that youthecat , i am guilty of defining people , going to stop that now , thanks for reply .

MsBella

I think I would really like you in rl, you don't give a damn. Good for you
There have been many additions to your first post, people thinking that you have admitted to doing things that other posters have said were their experiences. if you can be bothered to look back, its quite funny.

I was just akimming through the threads and thought this one said chickens instead of children!
Brought a whole new meaning to free range!!

Skimming

Did I miss something ? is MsBella the OP with a different name?

Anyway, I digress, I've read most of this and haven't commented but I've just come back from having lunch at the pub with an old friend. A party of half a dozen young mums sat at a big table in the middle of the room with most other people sat around the edges of the pub. They brought four prams with them which blocked the spaces between the tables and had several toddlers who ran up and down the pub virtually non stop. One girl did valiantly attempt to take her crying baby out after a while but not after being virtually laughed at by the others who told her to sit down and stop worrying. The mums were loud and laughed a lot without interacting with their children.

It was not a pleasant experience for the rest of us, the staff looked embarrassed but being typically British noone said anything.

I have to be honest and if I go again to the pub where that group was and they were there, I think I'd go home again.

Well at least the food would be fresh.

I can't say as I notice adults or children on other tables that much when I'm out and about, unless they are being really anti social. TBH I've always had far more issues with badly behaved, drunken adults than with children.

And I've never felt more judged and watched than as a mum with babies and small children. Not only are the kids learning to behave, you as a parent are learning about how to manage them in public within the space of the small number of occasions you get to practice. And also learning to grow a thick skin, as you learn that many people just hate children and probably themselves too, and will grumble and sneer no matter how well behaved your children are.

It's very easy going out now the girls are 7 and 4, I don't want to go through that phase again!

I don't see it as a problem, most people like small children- they don't like it when the parents won't deal with or remove troublesome ones.

mumof3men

I don't think msBella is the OP under a different name.

I was referring to her first post and how assumptions had been made throughout the thread as to what she said/did.
I believe this has led to the hostile comments towards her, but very typical of most judgy posts on these threads recently.

No, she isn't, morethan. She's on another thread at the moment talking about driving the neighbours up the wall. Doesn't even need to leave the house, apparently...

Ah yeah floggingmolly 'driving them up the wall'

YANBU nearly saw a five year old end up drenched in ramen soup in wagamama yesterday.

It's a meal sit at the table.

Ahem

We can see things are getting a little heated here. Of course, it's quite legitimate to have a discussion about the use of language, but please try to avoid personalising it - and remember that personal attacks are against our Talk Guidelines.

I stopped reading the thread when it started getting a bit crazy, but I have to say: please, please don't let your children "go for a wander" or anything or the sort in a restaurant with serving staff running around. You cannot rely on a server seeing your child at knee-level when they've got all their tables' requests on their mind as well as a tray full of hot food. You can try to blame them later but that won't make you feel better when your child has been scalded or worse.

I would love to know where you all eat!

I have never been disturbed by someone else's DC you are painting a picture of feral Dc running wild in places, which ones?

Even pre DC, I made a point to contact the Good Pub Guide when they had someone on the radio saying members were complaining about DC. At that moment in time pre DC I had sampled a good few of the pubs up and down the country and not once been disturbed by someone else's DC.

Since DC I have once been in a pub garden and witnessed un pleasant behaviour from one group of DC, with DP ignoring.

I was also a waitresses for four years at a v busy country pub, hugely busy and never ever had an issue with DC getting in the way?

Whenever I have seen any DC screaming or anything the DP are always there with red faces, trying to urgently put out the fire.

Maybe I am just lucky? However I do travel quite a bit and get out quite a lot.

My post was deleted above, which I think was a bit unfair. May I carefully try again?

I try not to use "SN kid" but if I do its a slip. If others use it but are being kindly I let it go.
This is a double standard.

But she was arguing with me and said "its not all about your SN kid" which I found pejorative and said so.
This is a misquoting and a distortion of what I actually wrote and also of the tone. My actual words were -
"I get that you feel aggrieved about some people's attitudes towards your SN kid....but you are projecting quite a bit and frankly, not doing your own cause any help, by distorting the content of the thread."

I do feel you owe me an apology, fanjo, as you have criticised me for wording you yourself use and been deliberately unpleasant about it. There was no intent on my part to offend, but you have certainly offended me by wrongly characterizing my posts and position.

I do apologize for the repeated posts, but it is an upsetting situation and obviously I do want the record to be accurate.

I would love to know where you all eat!

I have never been disturbed by someone else's DC you are painting a picture of feral Dc running wild in places, which ones?

The last time I experienced this was a very nice restaurant in a farm shop. Two mummys, their two babies and two approx 4 year old boys. Said boys ran riot the whole time we were there having our two course meal, while said mummys chatted and totally ignored their two boys. They ran around the tightly packed tables, knocking into chairs and just avoiding the waiting staff. Mums didn't do a single thing the entire time, while every person in the packed room was tutting and glaring at them. Ahhhhhh! They then went outside and unfastened the gate to the animal pen. Took 10 minutes for mums to notice. Unbelievable!

Previous to that was in a restaurant in Cyprus. A large group with lots of children. Many close calls with the waitors and waitresses who looked thoroughly fed up. Don't think those children were British though, which was good.

It does happen.

MyDarling I wouldn't say it's common at all, actually, but that's even more the reason to keep children seated. The reason waitstaff aren't looking for children is because they don't expect them to be unattended and hanging around at knee-height. The majority of them are seated with their families, as they should be.

So unfortunately, when it does happen, it can cause an accident.

Do I get an apology for you acting like a harassing loon?