AIBU - Toddler on bike in restaurant

[Eatally]

Out for dinner at the Indian at Center Parcs Longleat last Sunday, it’s about 50% full. Suddenly a toddler comes zooming round the circular centre isle on his balance bike, treating it like a race track.

I assume he’s escaped from his DP just arriving/leaving, but seconds later he zooms past again. And again. And again. Then is joined by another slightly older toddler on her bike.

The older couple on the table opposite us clearly think it’s cute and start cheering them on.

Eventually the staff reluctantly intervene and it stops.

But I can’t help wondering why DPs would ever allow this. Even if they didnt care less about other diners (which they clear didn’t), the staff were carrying heavy trays of hot food/hot drinks. It was an accident waiting to happen and sadly the small DC would come off worse.

AIBU to think this was really dangerous, or am I out of touch and it was kids just having fun?

Very poor parenting. I despair.

Terrible parenting.

Their parents will have thought it was cute and will have been looking around for attention and kudos. Ghastly behaviour.

YANBU but seems pretty common these days unfortunately.

The parents or staff should have stopped it. Not ok.

I would have chucked the bikes out the door. Well perhaps not, but would of wanted too

Poor parenting. Lucky there wasn’t an accident.

Chucked them out with or without the child on it?!

Yep. Wonder how cute they'd have found it when their kid suffered second degree burns from a waitress accidentally dropping soup on him. Bet they'd be quick enough to sue/do full Daily Mail was face then.

But an older couple there also found it cute…

The parents are thick, but the staff should have intervened immediately as the business carries the insurance risk.

These days everyone looks out for themselves first, and unless the staff are the owners they probably care more of the personal risk of confronting people who are already showing they aren’t reasonable people.

The elderly couple cared more about their own entertainment than the safety of those dc.

The parents are possibly more stupid than selfish as they probably do care about their dc’s welfare but only see the immediate problem of denying them in the moment.

Idiot parents

Yanbu. That's poor parenting, if they wanted to allow the kids to play whilst they ate they should have got the food to go (which takeaway is an option at most centre parcs restaurants and I believe the Indian restaurant does). There's a time and a place for kids to race about and the middle of a restaurant where hot food is being served and carried around is not one of them.

I have three small boys. I am all for tolerating children’s noise and bants in restaurants.
but this is not safe and should not be allowed
their parents should have put a stop to it immediately

Parents probably too busy on TikTok.
No prizes for guessing who would be blamed if the brats were injured 🤔

My mate sold her cafe in Hebden Bridge because of dickhead parents like this. They get what they deserve because they end up with terrible teenage and young adult children who make their lives a misery 😂

Best way to deal with that is by sticking your foot out as they pass.

🤣🤣 harsh but needed

I am not surprised in the slightest - it's just yet another example of the diabolical parenting (or lack of it) that goes on these days.

If their little darlings had got hurt, I'm sure the parents would have kicked up a right fuss. 🙄

On holiday years ago, there was a young child of about 6 or 7, treating the restaurant like her personal dance studio. The parents just let her get on with it - until there was a very, very, near miss with a waitress who had a fully loaded tray. The staff made it known they were not happy, and the parents very sheepishly made their child sit down and actually eat.

Alas some parents don’t think of other people, 2 families got kicked out of the pub for just this last weekend, the previous weekend another group got told to supervise their dc and keep their voices down (kids were having screaming matches). This is a small wet led pub with no particular facilities for children, they got a complaint there was no baby change and got told Wetherspoons had one 10 minutes away! Still parents want to bring them in

That is outrageous. It’s not that big in that restaurant. I’ve been known to remind my own children to walk nicely when going to the toilets and not prat about given the amount of waiters with plates. Allowing a toddler to scoot around in any restaurant but also that one is the height of entitled and shit parenting. If they were getting fractious they are a few meters away from a massive bloody cycle path so one of the party could have easily taken them out for a few minutes.

My friend at one stage had 5 kids under 8 and allowed several of them to scoot in tiny coffee shops. Her husband does very little parenting and they are
too entitled and don’t have the bandwidth to tell them to stop. It’s totally anti social and inconsiderate parenting.

It’s also stupid: particularly in establishments where patrons and waiting staff are carrying hot items.

Her lax, liberal parenting style is one of the reasons we are no longer friends.

People really are selfish twats

No idea why people are acting like this is typical behaviour ‘these days’. I’ve been to restaurants with and without kids many, many times and I’ve never seen anything like what the OP is describing.
It’s absolutely not normal parenting, let’s not try and pretend it is with all this generational judgement.

That's appalling behaviour from the parents. I am astounded by some of the low standards these days. Nothing ruins eating out for me more than dickheads who let their kids watch programmes or play games on a tablet with no headphones and the volume blaring out.