Put your frikking babies to bed!

[Plsdiscuss]

I went for a very exclusive dinner Saturday night. I'd been looking forward to it for ages. £150 per head place, which is a huge splurge for us.

A family of 4 were seated next to us at their 7.45pm arrival. The (about) 3 yr old was 50% pacified. The (about) 9 month old in the high chair squawked for about 30 mins then fell asleep, looking very uncomfortable slumped over the side of the highchair.

If their noise wasn't bad enough, I could hear another child crying in another part of the restaurant for about an hour. That child's noise got louder as they were pushed in their pram crossing the restaurant to leave around 9pm. I commented and gestured to my partner. I wasn't as subtle as I thought in this, as the mum looked cross, waved her arm at me and mouthed fuck off.

When my now adult children were that small, they were in bed by 7.30, unless there was an event like a wedding. We got babysitters for evening meals out...very rare as very hard to get babysitters. I would never have dreamt of taking my under 5s to quiet intimate adult spots, then letting them cry for the majority. For 1, I wouldn't have enjoyed my food and 2, neither would those around me.

There's a reason deliveroo exists. Use it. And stop being so frikking selfish. Babies need sleep, not fine dining.

You couldn’t be more wrong to be honest in all of your assumptions that you have just made here. you should be embarrassed making up your own little stories about a stranger on the internet.

The OP made herself look grumpy in the way she spoke about families, we have no idea, and nor does she why the family decided to go to that restaurant, but it clearly caters for families so perhaps OP could have considered this.

Yes they do, because all people care about nowadays is their rights and not their responsibilities.

It should be an absolute no-brainer that people with kids who can't behave shouldn't be in restaurants at god knows what time of the evening ruining other people's dinners, and yet somehow it isn't.

I'm wondering the same thing. The pub in St Albans that banned children made national news last month, so is it that common?

When I was still child free I sat next to a mum with a toddler and a baby. I watched the baby while she took the toddler to the toilet and even carried the baby down the steps after the flight. She was so appreciative and I'm so glad it was me sitting next to her and not some vinegar tits.

Their responsibilities should be towards their children . Children should and need to go out so that they learn the norms of a restaurant . Honestly the British people couldn’t be more unfriendly to children if they tried

And what choices would they be?

Please tell me!

Pissing about with tired toddlers in restaurants at 9pm annoying the clientele 🤔

Then they can learn it in a Harvester or a Chuck-E-Cheez or somewhere where behaviour fails don't matter so much, so that by the time they're old enough to be taken to a £150-a-head restaurant, they know how to behave and don't ruin everyone else's evening.

If they can't behave properly in an establishment like that then they shouldn't be there.

I agree. I don’t mind kids in pizza express but an expensive restaurant shouldn’t have crying and screaming in the evening.

Have I said I do this? Please show me where I said I have toddlers and I ‘piss about with them in restaurants at 9pm?

I think we've all encountered the 27% who think this is OK.....

Having worked in a childcare setting though, it's quite frightening how many children don't have bedtimes or routine. And it shows.

Deduction my dear....

Yes there's a load of them on this thread for sure!

LOL.

That’s family friendly not child free?

Yes. Those are the results I get when I type "child free restaurants near Manchester".

Ultimately, no one is winning in this situation and people are so focused upon what they feel entitled to do that they don’t appear to stop and actually think if it is what they enjoy.

We never did the "routine" thing. The kids were fine just fitting in with life. Never felt like sticking to someone elses 6pm/7pm "curfew" and as we had family from the Northern Isles down to mid France we spent a lot of time travelling, set times didnt fit our lifestyle at all. Not sure how you'd tell they had no routine as they were lovely kids. (We weren't the only ones to think so, thankfully)

I don’t know anybody whose kids are in a set routine that means bedtime at 9pm every night… so yeah to me it does mean 7pm.

You made quite a lot of personal assumptions (inaccurate I may add) about me.

You took a dislike to me just because I said children don’t necessarily need to be in bed by 7.30 and then attacked my parenting.

you are the donut, my dear

Hilarious. A normal spend.

When mine was three they were clamouring for food by about 5pm, then it was a play to wind down, a bath a story and bed at 8pm, but that was ages ago, I took them to eat out at lunch time so that they could get used to being in restaurant/cafe and learn what was acceptable behaviour. Of course a baby can't do this nor would I expect them to. I feel that as a culture we are not very child friendly but on the other hand I have had some meals out rather spoilt by children whose parents seemed quite happy to let them disrupt other diners. I am find with kids being out to eat and appreciate they can't be still and silent but I would expect the parents/carers to model reasonable behaviour.