To think children should be allowed to run around and have fun in McDonalds

[JimmyNail]

It’s a children’s restaurant so children should be allowed to have fun while they eat their meal. Nothing outrageous but things like crawling under our own table, playing a little chase around our table. Not in any way bothering other customers. Being a little loud. Just a bit of fun.

I never knew McDonalds was a kiddy restaurant.

no kid in any restaurant should run around. Sit down and eat then leave.

I always saw children friendly restaurants as an opportunity to train expected behaviours for other restaurants. Sitting still, chatting quietly to people sitting with you etc. Noisy children running about when you're trying to eat is irritating in any setting. At the nursery even our two year olds manage to sit still for the duration of a mean. Primary school age children aren't toddlers and should be able to sit still for 15mins in a fast food restaurant.

YABVU. Imagine if they bump into some one carrying hot drinks who would the parents freak out on. Yes, the poor innocent soul carrying a tray of hot coffee!

You're either taking the piss or this is a reverse.

It’s not a children’s restaurant just because it also has an offering for children.

If your children can’t behave reasonably for the length of time it takes to eat a Big Mac you a fundamental discipline issue.

Why do you keep insisting it’s a children’s restaurant? It’s not. It’s just a plain fast food joint.

Erm no, they can run around in a playground or park or field, there’s plenty of them around

McDonalds isn’t just for kids, it’s not a child’s restaurant

oh and 5 and 6 is plenty old enough to know how to sit and have a meal appropriately in a restaurant

I believe this OP's post was a complete fake because it only contained 2 highly provocative posts. Anything that says 'my children made this much noise in a restaurant but surely its alright cause they are kids' would get this attention. Yet, 230 exactly identical responses from everyone mostly boasting how their children would never do that, my child is 6 months old and never has tantrums in public spaces and can even sit through the whole fine dining experience, this kind of posts. Ok you all got some amazing children who would never even attempt to misbehave because of how well you 'trained them'. OP is not even coming back, it was probably a complete fake to provoke people for a reaction. Nothing provokes people more in this country than even an idea of misbehaving/not sleeping through the night/tantruming/throwing things around children.

Of course this OP is teasing. It's not her fault she can't look after her own kids or afford childcare. It takes a McDonald's to raise a child.

Absolutely appalling that based on a fake OP post about a kid misbehaving in McDonald's you make a whole assumption on the fact that someone is a shit mother who doesn't look after her children. I naively assumed that it would be someone who is an addict, who doesn't feed their kids, emotionally and physically abuses them. Oh no sorry its a mum with the kids who made noise in McDonald's.The level of judgemental attitudes in this country is absolutely appalling. In most countries people just mind their own business and would assume this mum was having a bad day and her kids were playing up which happens to every parent.

Not surprised that actual cases of abuse get completely ignored because usually these people have completely well behaved or in this case totally scared to misbehave children and probably appear like top class parents/guardians in public.

It really is unfair and it's pretty universally hated! We used to have "Gaps" which was a secret shopper and even though it was much more stressful, it was also a lot more achievable!

I have far more sympathy for addicts and really troubled people who need proper support for themselves and their children than lazy people who just can’t be bothered to teach their kids to behave acceptably in a social situation.

The latter group have no excuse. The former need a great deal of professional help - and so do their children. But they aren’t actually comparable to someone who just thinks it ok to let their kids run around in a restaurant.

What’s worse is that the latter group are the parents who erode the tolerance and sympathy other people have for parents who are trying to teach their children social skills but who are struggling because children don’t always succeed completely. That tolerance (and social support) is really important but increasingly rare because there are too many CFs about. That is the single worst thing about this kind of parents.

The second worst thing is that they are usually dicks if anyone challenges them for deciding it’s fine to let their kids run riot in McDonald’s. Who cares about anyone else?

Of course they shouldn’t, they should either be learning or have learned to sit at a table to eat.

people are carrying hot food and drinks, it’s dangerous

no one should have to put up with other peoples kids running round whilst they’re trying to eat.

Take them outside to a playground/park y to burn off energy.

People in MacDonalds are (rightly) judging your parenting

Well I just try and have a sympathy for everyone instead of judging. So you assume that those things can't blend together? Like you've never seen kids who are going through some things at home for example and they suddenly start being 'disruptive' at school for example? I've seen that with a bunch of children who were absolutely brilliantly behaved but a family situation had changed and you know what support/ sympathy they got from the other parents later on? None, everything was done to kick them out of school and to label them 'disruptive' to their sensible well behaved children despite all the professional help they were getting. I worked all my life with young children from early years into primaries and the level of tolerance in the society is very low.

But it's not a children's restaurant. They've got ads out for burgers they are targeting at adults.

Think you need to parent better.

😂😂 really? So how come nearly every other parent does it? What do they do in school?. Id expect every child over the age of 3 and most who are younger be able to sit at a table to eat unless there are issues that impact on self regulation,

But it’s very hard to expect a 5 year old and 6 year old to stay sitting down.

No it isn't. Teachers have to get whole classes full of them to do it, you know? Parents should be able to manage it with their own couple of dc (barring some additional needs, obviously).

No it's not! And it's not a children's restaurant.

Surely when they eat at home you don't allow them to run around.

Your reply is exactly identical to 250 others. It was a fake post to provoke people without any substance. There was no sub plot, no story, no any added drama nor conflict. What is everyone trying to prove to a ghost OP? That your own children can do so much better than imaginary 5 and 6 year old in imaginary McDonald's? Why should people whose kids might be misbehaving and let's say have additional needs explain to everyone this in the restaurant? Many additional needs are not obvious at all. My friend's child had got some additional needs and he gets restless very fast, the amount of judgement she gets because of that from strangers in any public space is insane. She shouldn't need to justify it every time she is trying to grab a sandwich.

It’s not a children’s restaurant.

It’s a fast food restaurant that happens to be child friendly by offering kids meals and options for families. That does not equal ‘playground’.

Wetherspoons has a kids’ menu. Is that a ‘children’s restaurant’ too? No, it’s a pub.

@OrientalDaisy I've spent time in Scandinavia and never seen tolerance of kids running around restaurants and crawling on the floor. I've equally seen plenty of examples of parents taking kids outside for a walk/run when they're restless and shouting, rather than just letting them continue doing it and disturbing other people. If the UK is particularly child-unfriendly, I think it's because we have a correspondingly high amount of people who really don't care who their kids are bothering as long as they get what they want. It's unfortunate for those parents of kids with SEN who have to manage very difficult situations whilst being judged, but that is in large part because of the large numbers of other people who don't have such issues but just don't want to put too much effort into parenting. I know you're going to tell me I can't tell the difference - we can all tell the difference between a parent who is doing something and one who isn't.

I speak as a child that was cowed into behaving well and where parental abuse went under the radar as a result. Nobody is suggesting abusing children to get them to behave well. What we're suggesting is that part of the job of parenting is teaching good behaviour. Ignoring bad behaviour or justifying it on the basis that they're just having fun, is not doing that.

It would appear that the OP dumped and ran.

No. It’s not a childrens’ restaurant. It’s potentially dangerous. You are only eating for a few minutes it’s hardly a lengthy 3 course meal. Sit on bum, eat food. Mess around we aren’t coming again.

5 and 6?! I thought you were going to say 2 op! 🤦‍♀️

You're being too kind. It's clearly a wind up.

I feel sorry for your childrens teachers, I bet they’re a nightmare at school seeing as installing the most basic discipline and civilised manners has been lost on you, their parent!!!!