Rude staff at restaurant

[ProudAuntieof3]

Did we over-react? I was at a restaurant in London Bridge (F&G) with my 3 nieces and nephews. Everything was great, the little one (2 years old), between courses, got up and wanted to see what was going on at the bar, which was right next to our table. There were empty stools and she started climbing them, without disturbing anyone. She happened to touch one of the plates that was laid out for future patrons. At that point, a staff member became irate, telling us to sit down and that now she'd have to change the plate because the baby had touched it. I was very shocked. All three children had behaved impeccably and were very polite. The baby wasn't running amok and was not disturbing anyone. We paid for what we ate and left. Am I being unreasonable?

Oh goody, another wind up thread about kids in restaurants and an 'am I being unreasonable' question when its blindingly clear that you are. 🙄😴

Of course YABVU.

I was in TGIs one evening and there were several children doing circuits as fast as they could round the entire restaurant. Obviously, I should have gone somewhere more refined, with a hushed hallowed atmosphere! I couldn’t understand why parents would allow this or why the staff allowed it either.

Unless it’s a soft play/child centric restaurant, YABVU. Why did you allow her to do this?

It is fair to say they shouldn't go. I've also a two year old and fed up of passive parents giving the rest of us a bad name under the guise that their toddler is exceptionally harder than everyone else's. No they're not. They need to be engaged with toys and conversation and parented by telling them no when they get down from the table and lifted back up.

We eat out regularly and my child doesn't need to get down because they have a bag of treats that entertain them at the table that are a novelty to them. And if that fails - which is rare, they're gave a tablet and headphones because it's not on to allow them to be disturbing staff trying to do jobs and people paying for a treat.

AIBU ? My god do you really need to ask?
Any kid not matter how well behaved YOU might think it is can be a complete pita to other people especially in a situation like this.
Do you really think climbing on stools and touching things your cherub shouldn't be touching is acceptable ? It your kid had burnt themselves or fallen and got hurt you'd be on here moaniing about the restaurant.
I had young kids once so I know what it's like but if you take young kids out, you either have to keep them entertained at the table or accepted your meal might not be as relaxing as you would like.

The thing is that other people are not interested in how well behaved your children are. The fact that the little one started to wonder was enough. Why should the staff have to think that your little one is cute? They may have broken something, fallen off etc. I just can't understand the modern parent mindset of 'how lovely my children are'.

Nobody wants some kid's germs all over their plate.

This 100%.

A child shouldn't be climbing up to a bar. Bars are for adults. There's glass, alcohol lots of hazards. And then your kid touched someone's plate.

Of course the staff need to tell you to move the children away from this area which is being used for active food and drink service.

Wow are you serious right now. Yes yabvvu and your giving good parents with well behaved children a bad name

A 2 year old shouldn't be allowed to climb on bars stools and touch clean plates. Toddlers do get bored in restaurants so its better to go to family friendly restaurants or bring somw colouring in etc with you for them. Toddlers being allowed to wander around restaurants, climb on furniture and touch dishes is not acceptable behaviour.

Children are lovely when they are sitting at their restaurant table talking at a normal volume. Once they start roaming about the place, they rapidly become a lot less lovely.

The rude people in this scenario were not restaurant staff OP.

YABU. A 2 year old should not be wandering to the bar and climbing stools. It doesn't matter that "they weren't disturbing anyone"

YABVU. Restaurants are not playgrounds. You should have not let your 2 year climb a bar stool or touch crockery. They could have got hurt, fallen off the stool or burnt their hands. If they need to fidget between courses, then you hold their hand and walk them outside the restaurant to look at the garden / outside.

The staff were probably annoyed that you were not looking after your kid. This could have been the 5th time they had to ask parent's to parent that day!

Yes you are very unreasonable. If you can't look after children properly, don't take them out.

YABU. I get that children can be active and curious, but no one, not even your kids, should be touching plates laid out for other customers. It's a hygiene thing. Fairly obvious, I would have thought.

yes, it shouldn’t have been climbing about with its germy hands 🤢

If they can't sit for a meal they don't get taken out. I drilled this into my dc and never had any bother. As all the PP have said - climbing on bar stools is never ever okay.

Yup, yabvvvu

They shouldn’t have V been rude but letting a two year old do that was unreasonable and rude too.

Obviously a slow news day and a journalist posted this made up bobbins just to write about an article about it later.

“Mumsnetters horrified”

Surely this is ragebait, no on can be this stupid to think it's OK for a toddler to walk around a restaurant and explore people's plates with bare hands... Wiould you like to eat on a plate some random child touched with their hands?

Caring for a 2YO is an active process that you have to focus on. It's ahrd work and relentless. You cannot allow a small child to wander off while you're sitting enjoying adult conversation. If you're responsible for them, you shoud be managing them.

In a restaurant, you either keep the child entertained quietly at the table or take them outside for a movement break. It isn't acceptable for them to get out of their seats and wander round, to touch things that aren't toys or to draw the attention of other diners.

If you wanted to let the child roam without you, you needed to go to a soft-play.

Yes you are being unreasonable. Had you parented properly in that situation, the child would not have been wandering around the restaurant/bar unsupervised, climbing the furniture and touching plates with food on.

Kids are wriggly and like to explore. You’re supposed to supervise them, prevent them from doing so in inappropriate public places and reprimand them if necessary, not be aghast when other people in society become irritated because you’re not doing any of the above.

Of course YABU. You do not let a child wander about a restaurant on their own. What sort of parent asks a question like this??
Start parenting. They are children. You are responsible for them.