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 think it's reasonable to expect quite a bit of noise somewhere like a McDonald's. It's an informal setting, there are lots of families with children in there, as well as groups of teenagers who can also be noisy. It's not the kind of place you go for peace and quiet, or a formal meal, so it's unreasonable to expect everyone to be sat in silence.
However, running around in any environment where people are carrying food and drinks is dangerous and crawling on the floor is unhygienic.
5 and 6 year olds are expected to sit down at school for far longer than the length of time it takes yo eat a Happy Meal, and if they are finding it difficukt then it's the parents job to teach them. Chat, laughter, playing with toys on the table - all absolutely fine. Running around, crawling or excessively loud shouting - not ok at any age really, but certainly not by school age.

Honestly, I'm the first person to be snarky about kids running around the tables at a restaurant but... it's McD's. The chairs are attached to the walls and everything is colourful and wipe-clean. It's hardly The Ivy. There's no way I'd be shocked or annoyed at a little kiddo running under my table because that's pretty much the setting I signed up for when I bought a box of nuggets for four quid.

If I want to dine undisturbed I can go somewhere that doesn't have toy adverts, colouring sheets and ketchup taps.

No it isn't hard. It's called parenting.

This thread is actually quite pointless. Its not really about running in the restaurants which is a no of course. Its about children not making any sound at all in the restaurant. I'd be honest I find one thing the most shocking is how strict most people are in this country when it comes to 'teaching children how to behave in social settings such as restaurants/not to be disruptive to others'. All whilst I've never seen adults behave as bad as in pubs in the UK or during family /birthday gatherings where drinks are involved. I mean arguing/swearing/shouting/ looking for arguments with complete strangers you name it. But as long as their kids are quite and busy colouring...

Are you the same poster who thought McDonald's should only serve you if there's a free table for you to sit at?

When I was a child McDonald’s had a climbing frame area inside the restaurant so children could play, I thought it was great plus obviously keeps the kids active before they tuck into junk food . Shame that no longer exists.

So what will you do if your children trip another customer and make them drop all their food? Will you offer to replace it for them? If your child causes someone to injure themselves or someone else when they trip over your child (a simple fall can cause a nasty fracture, or hot coffee could cause a serious scald if spilled on someone) - will you accept responsibility? If your child trips someone up and gets hurt themselves, I assume you won’t be complaining or expecting any apology from the person they tripped.

I had three boys, and took them to cafes when they were the same age as your children - and younger - and I made sure they behaved themselves - it is called parenting, and it is your job.

McDonalds is an excellent place to start teaching your children how to behave in cafes - no long waits for food, food most kids love, and an informal, child-friendly atmosphere - but child friendly does not mean playground, as you seem to think. You need to start teaching your children how to sit and eat nicely - you can start teaching this at home and practise it when you eat out.

Start by setting expectations - namely you sit and eat your meal without getting down and running around. You can go to the loo if you need to, but otherwise you sit and eat nicely, then you get to go and play. It won’t be an overnight success, and you will have to work at it, but it is perfectly possible.

When you do go out to eat, remind your children about the Rule - sit and eat, no running around - and reward them when they achieve it. “OK, Bill and Ben, we are going to McDonalds. You can’t run around the table, and need to sit and eat your meal nicely. If you do sit and eat nicely, you can have a McFlurry”. If they start to act up, remind them that not behaving nicely = no ice cream - and follow through.

We used to get compliments from restaurant staff on how nicely our boys behaved, even when they were younger than your children. By the time they were teens, we could take them to fine dining restaurants and be confident that they would be good company and a credit to us.

Appropriately ‘quiet’ behaviour doesn’t mean sitting in silence.

no in expect silence in a
fast food place (or any restaurant really). But shouting, screaming, running around, throwing food, pouring things on the table/floor should not be happening. Anywhere

Some of them do have this.

still.., that is where they should play. Climbing all over the table and running around it is not ok.

This thread is actually quite pointless. Its not really about running in the restaurants which is a no of course. Its about children not making any sound at all in the restaurant.

It is exactly about running around in restaurants. That's what the OP posted. Not loud chatting or having Peppa Pig on the ipad. Anyone going into McD's for a quiet meal and expecting silence clearly hasn't understood how the world works.

But running around unchecked, not on your nelly.

You basically just listed what only children would normally/occasionally do. Might as well put that kids are too unpredictable therefore shouldn't be taken out until they can guarantee that all of the above mentioned things would not happen.

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

no it's not, especially as you can get in and out of there in half an hour or less

There is at least one thread every week about kids on the next table watching iPad loudly with hundreds of comments how only lazy parents give their kids iPads and kids should be able to eat their meals quietly.

I have three children and I have never allowed them to do any of those things in a restaurant.

They might have spilled a drink, but that’s an accident. I would help clear it up and teach them how to avoid spilling their drink. They might have started having a tantrum (as a toddler), but I have dealt with it (including by just leaving with the toddler and getting my husband to sort everything else out).

our job as parents is to teach our children to behave in social situations. No one should expect perfect behaviour at all times. But it’s reasonable to expect the parents to be managing it appropriately.

do we really think so little of children that we want to pretend throwing food, screaming and running around should be ok in a restaurant of any kind?

No wonder people grow up into teenagers who throw food. Or adults who behave badly. When did anyone expect them to learn how to behave in a public situation.

What’s your stance on ketchup, OP?

And I vehemently disagree that any of those things are things children should normally be doing. Especially children old enough to be at school.

screaming
shouting
running around
pouring drinks on the table
throwing food

The problem there isn’t that kids are just too unpredictable to be in public, but that some parents’ expectations of their children are far too low.

a 6 year old should not be screaming in a restaurant. Or climbing on the furniture. Or throwing food around.

i can’t believe anyone would argue that was ok and people objecting to it were being unreasonable.

I refuse to believe that this isn't a reverse.

I assume you somehow manage to prevent your 5 and 6 year old from doing other things they might find fun such as running into the road, touching a stove, climbing a big unsteady fence? Just do what you do there.

If you can't stop them doing that either then you need to start there, then work up to McDs!

Why is it so impossible for children to manage a meal without a noisy iPad? If the meal is going to be longer than usual, then yes, children may need something to keep them entertained - but I see no reason why that entertainment has to be noisy. Having raised my kids in the days before iPads, we entertained the boys and kept them reasonably quiet (not silent, but at normal noise level for the cafe we were in) with quiet toys, books and conversation - so I know it is perfectly possible. We weren’t perfect parents, and the boys were normal, energetic little boys - but we put in the effort, and it paid off.

If your child does need videos or games on a tablet, then why is it unreasonable to expect them to use headphones? Or to play the games with the sound off?

If your child’s Peppa Pig video is so noisy that it is interrupting the conversation at neighbouring tables, it is too loud, and you are being rude and inconsiderate.

Seriously?
My 22 month old can sit at the table and eat 😂

Especially in a children’s restaurant

McDonald's is a fast food outlet. It's not 'a children's restaurant'. It's just as much for adults as it is for children.

A bit of noise, fine. Nobody goes to a McDonald's for tranquility. Running around in a restaurant of any kind is dangerous, because people are carrying trays of food and hot drinks. Crawling around on the floor under a table is unhygienic and gross.

Children aged five and six should absolutely be able to sit on their seat for the length of time it takes to eat a burger. You realise they have to sit in their seat to eat lunch at school, right? They don't let them get up and run around and crawl under tables.

Firstly, it's not a children's restaurant - it's a child/family friendly fast food restaurant. And no, it's not acceptable to have kids running around. I'm sure you'd be the first to complain or try to sue if your child got hurt by hot tea or coffee or whatever after they ran into someone carrying a tray. In any event, it's a great place to practice sitting nicely in a restaurant where it's a bit more relaxed and use the opportunity to model good behaviour when eating out. I was always expected to sit nicely to eat my dinner - whether at home or out - and to stay there until everyone was finished. I didn't have toys or colouring books or anything like that either - no TV on at home. I had to learn patience and manners. Getting down and/or running around/crawling under a table quite simply was not an option. I can't remember ever even trying - I'd have been left in absolutely no doubt that such behaviour was quite simply not acceptable. End of.

Even if an iPad is your choice of activity… why are you letting it be noisy. Headphones exist. If they don’t wear them, they can watch without sound.

If you don't teach then table manners then yeah, sure.

Well, no, we're saying that part of parenting is teaching children not to do any of these things. Everyone accepts that children may want to do these things, but the parent's job is to stop it. Not to say "they're having fun in this children's restaurant so that's fine".

I agree with you about adults being disruptive in pubs etc. - that's rubbish for everyone else. Perhaps they were the 5 and 6 year old running around McDs whilst their parents ignored it?

Maybe the children aren’t expected to sit at the table for a meal at home and are used to grazing, eating with their fingers, walking around whilst eating and don’t understand about using a knife and fork. I know you don’t need a knife and fork in McD’s but it’s part of the same thing. If children aren’t used to sitting at tables, they will think they don’t need to.

If you choose to parent children in that way, that’s up to you. Please don’t inflict them on others.