Yes parents in restaurant, you were VU!

[Bogeyface]

It was not the waitress's fault that she tripped over your daughter who was running around with your son causing havoc, it was not the waitress's fault that your DD got caught on the arm with a fork that fell off the tray of pots she was carrying, it was yours. If you bothered to look after them instead of texting, talking and watching TV on your phones then it wouldnt have happened.

That was why the manager refused to give you a refund on the 5 meals you had, and I agreed with him when he said that a restaurant is not an appropriate place for a child to be running around. I also agreed with him when he said that if you couldnt keep your children under control then you would not be welcome back. So did everyone else, which is why no one jumped to your defence when you said "No one minds do they?" looking at the other diners.

Oh and btw, occasionally jiggling the buggy while you stuff your face is not a recognised way of calming a howling baby. Try feeding the baby before you feed yourselves you selfish bastards.

You ruined our meal out, which is a very rare treat for us these days thanks a fucking bunch for that.

I'm hoping she'll just learn to pop him in the trolley, keep him occupied with 'helping'/chatting and leave the balance bike at home in future.

Maybe she didn't want him standing in the trolley in his shoes and forcing 'pooh cubes' through the metal mesh

I have appalling insomnia (again) and have been thinking about this more and more. I have come to the conclusion that they wanted a refund because only ma, pa and teen-ish lad ate their meals. The two who caused the ruckus didnt seem to eat anything as there was a lot of "Come and eat your dinner!" followed by...no action whatsoever as that might have taken a bit of effort.

Fuckwits.

I bet they shop at Aldi, I just bet they do, because I shop there and something tells me that they would go shopping en famille. I bet they are there on Tuesday when I do mine, just to piss me off with shoes in trollies and eating grapes they havent paid for and everything! :o

My dsc's used to be like this, it lasted all of 1 meal out with me. The riot act was read at them and at dp, all were told I was mortally ashamed.

They now behave impeccably!

This does my head in. We went with friends to a family-friendly but very busy pub for Sunday lunch with three babies and two toddlers. Our 2.5yo DS was wriggly and bored but sat in his seat, played with the trains we'd brought, talked to us and was OK, considering. Not angelic but hopefully not a disturbance to anyone else. Friend's DS - 6 months older than ours - was ok too but was allowed to actually get out of his seat and wander across the pub! DH said "you know he's gone, right?" and the parents shrugged, leaving DH to hotfoot it after him.

DS honestly talked for weeks about the other little boy walking around in the pub! He was scandalised! And this is not a child famed for sitting quietly and making no bother of himself.

I agree with OP.

My DC are now grown up but we ate out as a family right from birth. We used to play snap, or hangman or join the dots or talk between courses. No problems.

Regarding european children, they do misbehave, but it is dealt with. In Spain, I saw a child refuse to eat her dinner, so the mother called the waiter and got him to take the meal away. DC was expected to sit quietly while everyone else finished their meal.

In Italy a child refused to sit in the place allocated, her father picked her up, placed her firmly in the sit and made it clear that was were she was expected to sit.

worra I have no problem with DC in restaurants. In fact I love seeing large intergenerational family groups enjoying each other's company and a meal together.

Chottie, I've seen a kid scoot around waitrose ....it ended in her slamming into my basket which was on the floor, falling and really hurting her mouth. Blood everywhere. Some parents learn the hard way. Idiots.

Children scooting and on bikes in a super market?!

Ridiculous!

I would have come over all passive aggressive and glared.

My dd wanted to scoot in the supermarket. Not a chance. I did get pissed off at a lady who blatantly took a dislike to my dd (who was standing next to me not running around) and deliberately put her trolley in my way and I had to physically move it to get past.

Anyway where we!? Yes, DC in restaurants. I hate eating out with mine because while we make them stay seated it is a struggle (they're 4&2). DH thought it was a good idea to book us for an extended family lunch in a fancy restaurant. Yeah OK for him as he gets pissed with his siblings while I spend two hours trying to entertain them and eating my dinner quickly in between

Love it worra - clearly you spend a lot of time reading MN!
I will look out for the woman in question posting with a rant about British child haters!

It can work the other way round to..some people are just itching to complain about children.

Me and a friend took our children to.weathrrspoons for lunch about 12, we where all sat at the table, kids where colouring and talking, but not shouting but the waitress xamebup and appogised. For having to say.this but some one had complained about us, she.said she could see they wherent being overly noisy and was actually being well behaved e but she had to say something as they had complained.

We figured it was the old couple sat in complete quite, seeing as every one else was talking.and.enjoying their lunch.

Really passed me off.

On the scooter thing, at the tank museum last year, two parents wanted to take their children in with their scooters (while they were paying the children were scooting up and down the long rampway next to the tills). They looked so perplexed and put out when the receptionist asked them not to take the scooters in. Where do people get their ideas that this is an OK thing to do?

I see a lot of posts on threads like this where someone will compare British children to Spanish/French and it intrigues me. Is there more of an 'it takes a village' thinking on the continent than here? Are British parents more of the 'I know best' type thinking and not as aware of the impact their children's behaviour has on others?
I know I'm generalising here btw.

YANBU OP

Love it Worra - because yes, all British children are badly behaved in restaurants and all forrin children are like aaaaangels at the table.

Round of applause to the manager!

Last time I went out for dinner a woman was encouraging her little darling to scream...

Chottie - in Italy I once saw a family with 2 young children arrive late at the restaurant, and those 2 children then proceeded to throw tantrums and run about the place while their parents ignored them. The UK children sat quietly, finished their meal and sat chatting/playing quietly.

Ergo, all Italian children are poorly behaved and all British children are well behaved

the farce fair point, I should have said continent. I went school in Switzerland, France and Belgium and spend several months a year staying with friends and family in Germany, Norway and Holland.

And no, I don't see children misbehaving to anything like the extent I do here. The parents are aware of fellow diners, how to behave in a restaurant and expect their offspring to do likewise.

Southern Europe is a little more lax in the evenings, but I've never seen children running under waiters' feet like I do here.

The British are notorious in other European countries for the ill manners of our children restaurants.

HTH too.

Great post Worra!

Massive high five for that manager. I wish there were more of his/her kind around.

And we have our own thoughts on the Europeans too Montegomongoose

What is it with us Brits?

We are seen as a nation with so many manners it stifles us but yet we seem to have changed into a nation that is rude and selfish and wholly unaware of others.

It's not just confined to eating out it's everywhere you go you can garuntee a family somewhere will ruin it for others by being boisterous, rude, and selfish.

When did that become socially acceptable?

There should be more managers like this: willing and able to defend their staff and other customers without being scared shitless of a Facebook complaintfest.

Yanbu. I can't bear watching small children running around restaurants and coffee shops. Hot food and drinks =burns. We eat out a lot so my children know to behave. I always take pens, paper and have games on my phone as well.

Worry

That was meant to worra!

Are we against kids in trolleys now?