Carolina Beach, NC..The owner of the Olde Salty restaurant, Brenda Armes, is tired of having her customers complain to her about children misbehaving and screaming when others are trying to enjoy a quiet meal.
Armes says the signs have worked. "It has been a good thing for us," Armes said. "It has brought us in more customers than it has ever kept away."
Gary Gibson was dining at the restaurant for the first time and agrees with Armes. "It's not very enjoyable when you hear a bunch of kids screaming. It's nice to see a sign like that up," Gibson said.
While many are for the rule, some families are against it. "I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."
*
The owner says people with screaming kids won't be banned, they'll be asked to take the kid outside and calm them down. I thought that's what normal people do anyway, but, now I guess they need a sign to tell them to be a decent human being. What do you think?
23 comments:
I think that if your offended by it in the first place your kids are probably little tyrants that shouldn't be allowed in a restaurant anyway! If your kids are well behaved you would only chuckle at a sign like that.
that is awesome!!! i hate going out to eat and people have little kids screaming and running around the place and they just think it's adorable....especially at buffets....it is annoying and can be dangerous.....
a kid running around screaming in a restaurant is a kid who has been raised to think it's ok to do so.
I'm not a parent but I was a kid once and if I'd screamed in restaurants as a matter of course, my parents would have happily removed me from the restaurant. There would have been other consequences as well, like removal of privileges, etc. I think parents can get used to, or perhaps immune to, loud and rambunctious behavior from their kids as a coping mechanism. Taking kids out to places should be a lesson in socialization, not domination.
lu
Valle is right, raise your children to behave in restaurants and you won't be asked to go elsewhere. Bad behavior should never be tolerated and to expect others to put up with it is selfish and ignorant. I'll take it one step further and say, teach your children to keep their food on their plate/tray. It is utterly disgusting to me to see the mess on the floor after some lazy mother allows her child to have a free for all at the wait staff's expense.
I saw this on our local news this morning. I totally agree and commend the owner for doing this.
I hate going out to dinner with friends for a nice conversation only to hear a kid screaming their head off and a parent being oblivious to it. I'm not a parent, but if I were, I think I would immediately take my child out. I hate when a parent just sits there like they don't hear anything.
I also think this should extend everywhere. I know it's unrealistic for a child to be totally quiet, but some parents need to get a clue.
~Palmetto Girl
Kudos to that restaurant owner!!!
Flashback to the days of young children. Oldest kid (the Perfect Child up until this time) was 33 mos old when preemie baby bro was born. We spent a lot of days at the out of town hospital, most times driving home for dinner, occasionally eating out. Oldest was used to eating at Nice restaurants since the age of 1 year. One night after leaving the hospital, Ex, kid & I went to a restaurant in town. We were at the table long enough to order drinks when kid threw a major tantrum (yes, I know this was a stressful time for her also). Kid would not calm down so Ex picked her up... heading for the car. I dropped a 10 on the table, found the server and told her we were leaving. Less than 5 minutes down the road a little voice from the back seat was saying "but, I'm hungry...sniff, sniff". We stopped at a place 10 miles down the road and the kid was a perfect angel. My two were taught... you don't act like an animal at My Table and you don't act like one when you are outside the house. ... and it never happened again with either one of them. Dayum, guess I did at least one thing right in raising them up.
I think some parents are unclear on what constitutes "bad behavior". It seems a lot of parents think kids running around and screaming is normal. Surprise! It's not normal and you may enjoy putting up with it but we don't and I applaud the restaurant with the balls to put up that sign.
I'm a mom and I looked after many kids for over 10 years and I never put up with that kind of behavior. I know it's possible to teach good behavior by setting the example using firm, consistant and kind direction. I've done it with kids whose parents allow them run around and scream in restaurants. If I can do it, anyone can.
My son is almost 23 months old and I have had people come up to me in restaurants and tell me how well behaved he is. You know what, it is exhausting. I never enjoy going out to eat anymore. I am all over him making sure he is either playing quietly or eating and not making a mess. I come to a restaurant prepared with our own snacks and small toys that keep him busy until the food comes out. Then I cut up his food and make sure he doesn't throw it on the floor. I hardly eat any of my own meal but you will never hear him act up or scream. I always tip well for putting up with us and if something does end up on the floor, I pick it up before we leave. The thought of him carrying on or having a fit actually makes me nervous. I can't stand loud noise and I would feel terrible about disturbing other people. I was raised to be mindful of other people and not to carry on but the fact that a restaurant had to post a sign shows you what kind of world we live in now. No boundaries, no consideration.
The worst place is the grocery store. OMFG! I wanna find the kid in w/e aisle they are in and choke their mother!! And spank the kid!!
It makes my skin crawl. It's worse to me than the local idiot, well, wait. I dunno, they are both pretty bad. Gawd almighty. I was asked at church to leave when my baby son was crying. Not go outside, just go home! I wish I had never went back. Effer's. There i was trying to do what I was right as I was told, and then I was told to take my crying baby & leave. Dayum!
But this sign is ok. Once we were at a Mexican restaurant in Corpus. A kid was pounding his spoon on the high chair endlessly, it was a hispanic family. Well, you do NOT say anything to a hispanic man about his baby, not even! So, our friend asked the guy to have the kid stop, it was right next to us and very annoying. Our own babies were being so good and sleeping. So, the hispanic guy bursts outta his seat & grabs our friend, they scuffle and almost go thru a huge window just next to our seats. Tables & chairs & almost some kids went flying. It was an event. Saturday night at the fights!
Good sign. Very helpful. But needs to be printed in spanish as well.
rox
I like it, it's great to see some standards set. It's her place, her rules, if you don't like it, go to MacD's
I need to add that I think I'm immune to children screaming, now that mine are grown up. When I'm out with people who react to children screaming, I'm the only one almost oblivious to it. Don't know what that means, but at least that's ONE thing that doesn't bother me anymore.
Couldn't agree more. Sad that we have to end up posting these signs but, hey, if that works, I'm all for it. I have two kids and they have never disrupted anyone's meal. Same at movie theaters, I make sure they understand that other people are around and to hush it and watch the movie.
Thank goodness this woman put that sign up! I am so sick of parents & they're badly behaved children. There's no excuse for it, teach your kids how to behave in public.
I'm glad someone is reestablishing this boundary. It used to be if a child acted up you'd see one of the parents take them outside & calm them down, not these days, it's more like they do their best to ignore it. Huge lack of courtesy to everyone else there.
Or the parents who let their children roam in the restaurant & wander over to stranger's tables, trying to strike up conversations with them, that is so irritating.
what does angelina jolie think about this?
When my kids were little (little Alex's first visit to a restaurant was when he was 7 days old), they were NOT allowed to act up, or annoy other diners. The few times they "threw a fit", they were taken out of there faster that a hairball from a cat! Threatened with spending the rest of dinner in the car (would never happen, and I guess they knew it)... they calm downed, and were very well behaved. I can't stand it, and I never let my kids do it.... I would rather stay outside with the kids, then let them into the restaurant and make a scene and run around.... LOL.I guess Dr. Spock wouldn't agree, but I have 2 healthy, normal, and well behaved boys of 17 & 19 yrs. old.
Beth in Seville
I would purposefully eat EVERY POSSIBLE DAY at a restaurant that posted a sign such as this. KUDOS to Brenda Armes.
Good for her, putting up that sign!!
We allow people to get away with too much these days, if you ask me.
I don't know where the sense of entitlement comes from, but it is very apparent in people who sit with screaming kids in restaurants. We never tolerated that from our son, and it enfuriates me to sit in a restaurant, trying to enjoy a meal we are paying for when someones child starts running around or screaming, and no-one wants to deal with it.
Occasionally we get families with out of control kids at my work. Drives us all crazy.
So many parents feel their crotchdropping is entitled to special attention and get mad if you disagree. Good for her for putting up that sign.
Hubs and I made the mistake to go to a restaurant on father's day...we totally forgot it was father's day. Anyway the place was packed and we were seated across from this family of 5, the parents, a toddler, a baby, and an older kid.
The toddler and the baby in the high chair made the biggest mess under the table I've ever seen in a restaurant. And they were both screaming at the top of their lungs, the toddler was pestering the baby. The parents? Fine, thank you. Thankfully they were about done and were wrapping up a few minutes after we sat down. After they were gone we saw the waitress cleaning up the pigsty the costumers left. She was NOT thrilled. I asked her if they left a good tip, and she said "I hope so!". We left her a 20 dollar tip (out of a 38 dollar bill-about55%) just cause we felt bad that she had to do all that work.
I wish these people had a minimum of consideration and at least picked up some of the mess. I try to at least wipe the table from crumbs and spills then stack the dishes and the cups if they're too many. They appreciate that.
Meissa, I already know those people didn't leave her a good tip. They never do. I'd rather wait on old people than them. I seriously HATE the young-family-with-little-kids people.
Excellent - we need this in CA. They let the kids scream and kick chairs and do NOTHING - the percentage of these "invisible" parents who set no limits is growing out here and I find it super annoying.
@Misss Tia, LMAO!!! Maybe we should also wait to hear what Siri Cruise would do. I'm surprised Katie & Tom haven't already announced it to the public. :)
That's the other thing about parents with kids, I remember a lot of them used to clean up after their own kids at restaurants & now days they happily leave it for wait staff to deal with & never leave a good tip if they leave one at all.
We went to lunch with my two children Saturday, I was embarrassed both were acting like fools my 9 yr old wanted a steak with shrimp on it I told him to get a job and he could have anything he wanted on it, my 2 yr old wanted a high chair, then she wanted the high chair put up, then she wanted a high chair grrrrr....I was so upset I chose to have nothing for lunch the 9 yr old got the lunch 20 dollar special 2 entrees and an appetizer we ordered his steak medium rare...It was my opinion they wanted to get rid of us quickly so put the order in without asking what sides they wanted with the meal the steaks came out mooing I told my husband dont even bother complaining I want out of here as quickly as they want us out...but have to say once they got their food they both behaved very well.
Connie aka Swamp Witch
Post a Comment