Re children in restaurant

[Arbesque]

Four of us booked a table in an expensive restaurant last night for 7.30.
About 10 minutes after we'd sat down a couple came in pushing a buggy and with 2 other children in tow. They were seated at the table beside us.
One child kept bashing his spoon off the table, another kept crawling along the wide windowsill so that he was right behind my head, and the baby was kept amused by the father playing peek a boo while she screamed excitedly. This went on and on.

We asked to be moved to another table. There were none available.Then the baby started crying loudly and the toddler got tired and cranky and joined the wailing.

We left without dessert and complained on the way out. They knocked the price of a bottle of wine off our bill.

AIBU to think expensive restaurants, charging a fortune, should have a policy for dealing with situations like this?

We paid a lot of money for a meal we couldn't enjoy.

Absolutely all of this. I just don't get it.

Nothing wrong it’s just a different culture there is no right or wrong either side. It’s boring when people use places like Italy as an example of “ how to do family eating out” such a cliche as well.

Sounds like these particular parents weren’t actually teaching their kids how to behave in public though.

I’m with you OP. Sometimes I go out to eat with all my family, grandkids included. We go to very family-friendly places and its all a bit chaotic and fun. At other times I want a nice quiet meal with adults only. Doesn’t mean I hate kids!

You just proved the PP s point! Believing you can tell people what they can and cannot do and where they can and cannot go is the essence of entitlement. Thankfully people like you only believe they are entitled. In fact, you have ZERO power to enforce your opinions.

Please elaborate on “people like you”. Who is people like me? And why shouldn’t we be in restaurants? Because we aren’t offended by children? Because we aren’t snobby and stuck up?

When you say my “behaviour” you actually mean my opinions don’t you? Because how can you possible judge my behaviour when I have given no examples of it. Weird. So so weird 😂

Depends on the restaurant to some extent, but why didn’t you ask to move, if you are so adverse to little ones?

just been back from holiday in Spain, , dinner at 9 and loads of children in restaurants behaving much the same and the locals love it, so accommodating to kids. I actually noted that most nice posh restaurants have even small play area for the kids there, No one bothered by children being children, everyone was chatting, eating great food and generally a lovely relaxed feeling. Why do people in this country readily feel their experience not enjoyable by trivial changes in the environment. You could have enjoyed the baby playing peek a book and squealing in excitement but you chose to complaint about it. What is wrong with this country !!

People objecting to unparented children is not remotely the same as racism and you should be ashamed of yourself, @BeardyButton.

In any case, businesses such as airlines are free to disallow certain people based on age, unless you think that nightclubs and 18 certificate films are also practising age discrimination.

You just proved the PP s point! Believing you can tell people what they can and cannot do and where they can and cannot go is the essence of entitlement. Thankfully people like you only believe they are entitled. In fact, you have ZERO power to enforce your opinions.

Not really. I part own a restaurant. If someone like you came in you'd be out on your arse. 😁

Second para of the OP:

We asked to be moved to another table.

Think that poster is referring to people who think their children's development as more of a concern than what intolerant prejudice people think of them. People who see children crying on a plane and think - poor kid, poor parent (as opposed to poor me). People who hear a kid playing in a paddling pool in their garden and think - how lovely (not poor me). People who believe that children are worthy of respect, not just as potential adults, but as people in their own right.

Thankfully, 'people like' that poster have literally zero power to keep you or your children away from restaurants or planes or their gardens. All they have the power to do is ruminate on how annoyed they are and raise their own blood pressure.

Someone like you? Oh you know, someone that has no respect for other people. A little respect goes a long long way. And no, I wouldn't be giving you the name 😂 you're certainly not welcome there. I'm sure the temptation would be too great to bring your bad manners with you.

I wanted to be on your side but then you held the restaurant accountable and cost them money. Nah. YABU.

No of course it’s not misbehaving but I always found eating out with my child at that age stressful and didn’t enjoy it. It’s also a bit disrespectful to the restaurant and it’s staff. Even though many are lovely about it it’s still tiring to deal with small children on a long shift making sure they are safe and not tripped over. Then there’s the noise level and food smeared tables. Oh. Yes they do it happily in Italy ! The family adult to child ratio tends to be different in those places.

When you say my “behaviour” you actually mean my opinions don’t you? Because how can you possible judge my behaviour when I have given no examples of it. Weird. So so weird

You've given a good measure of what you think acceptable behaviour is in public. That's enough for me. 😉

No respect for other people because I don’t understand how children playing peekaboo and crawling is misbehaving?

Im not welcome in your establishment but you fail to give me the name?? Are you dense?

Thankfully, 'people like' that poster have literally zero power to keep you or your children away from restaurants or planes or their gardens. All they have the power to do is ruminate on how annoyed they are and raise their own blood pressure.

Please don't be too upset when someone tells your kid to go back to his/her own table and stop bothering them.

I dont understand why do you expect the restaurant to deal the the noise of the children.

YABU - as if you complained and got money off

Children playing peekaboo and crawling … wow you are absolutely correct. I see it now. God, how unbelievably inconsiderate and selfish of me. I’ll make sure I discipline my children accordingly and never dare to step foot in public again with my feral brats. Honestly, can’t believe a dense restaurant part owner has made me realise how disgusting children playing are.

I think your “expensive meal” comments have riled some people up.

The parents encouraged loud noises and let their baby crawl along a window sill while a restaurant full of adults are quietly eating their meals. They didn’t read the room.

Crawling and bothering people on other tables. Fucking hell, how hard is it to understand other people might not find your kid's behaviour cute and might just want it to go away and leave them alone?

I’ve three kids and we didn’t do long service nice restaurants to be fair to other diners when they were little. They didn’t like to sit still for long so we went to tapas places, early diningtimes etc when they were younger so we could be in and out quite quickly.

theyre 7-12 now and a delight in restaurants, we still would eat earlier - more because they’d be starving otherwise.

i would be very aware of other diners
I’m Irish - we just seemed to be singled out in the other posts

People excusing the fact that one child was crawling on a window sill behind OPs head?! That’s not okay. The noise of children is something that can’t be controlled, and if I go out to an evening meal I always make sure I find out first about if children are allowed before I book. It’s not that I hate children, but I just want to be able to hold a conversation with the people I’m with. But I think restaurants should step in when children are crawling on the floor or on sills behind where someone’s eating.