Should fine dining establishments go out of their way to accomodate toddlers?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

It's more than a bit over the top.

Besides, I can't imagine how anyone truly enjoys flying these days. I enjoy being other places and flying is the means to get there, but there's nothing enjoyable about flying.

My mom says that all the time - that she loves flying. Then again, she's only flown for pleasure, and not on a crappy prop plane with less than 20 seats, or on a red-eye home from the west to the east coast because your boss was too cheap to flip for a hotel room. That flight was awful - we had flown one of the crappy newer airlines and get this - they couldn't land in Boston because of fog - their pilots didn't have experience landing in fog (all other airlines were landing and taking off). I woke up around 8am as we were circling above Ohio, and asked the chick next to me what was up. She said that Logan had sent us to circle Ohio an hour and a half earlier.

We used to fly a lot to see family, but these days, it's so much effort. It wouldn't kill the relatives to come see us one of these days, but I digress.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

My mom says that all the time - that she loves flying. Then again, she's only flown for pleasure, and not on a crappy prop plane with less than 20 seats, or on a red-eye home from the west to the east coast because your boss was too cheap to flip for a hotel room.

EXACTLY! My mother flies twice a year, and it's always between her house in Florida and a relative's home or a hotel. I've been flying 4-5 times a year since college, and I've had to stay in airports all day because of snowstorms, lost connections and thus had to stay in hotel rooms, and all that nonsense.

The last time I really "enjoyed" flying, I was doing it first class because of frequent flyer status.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

That's exactly what would have gone down at my nail place, those ladies are no joke! The only kids I've seen in there are the ones getting their nails done.

Shortly after that, they put a notice up saying that any kids not getting their nails done will be asked to leave (or will be sold). lol.

[chickenoodle]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Shortly after that, they put a notice up saying that any kids not getting their nails done will be asked to leave (or will be sold). lol.

My grandmother manages an antique mall and they have a sign posted that says something along the lines of "Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy."

An antique mall is one of the the last places I'd want children to run free.

[christiangirl]

You know, I have no problem sharing restaurant space with kids. Then again, I've never been anywhere I couldn't wear jeans, so there you have it.

WOW at Violet's stories! Both women had a lot of nerve! When I get a mani/pedi, I always bring headphones so I can zone out. The salon does accept children and I've seen people look annoyed with them. I went this week and there were little girls running around. However, the music serves its purpose here--I could see them but not hear them.

Honestly, I think toddlers are too young. You can bring the children who can control their crying--with babies/toddlers, they just explode and they stop when they stop. With older kids (5+) it boils down to behavior, not age.

[carnation]

I am appalled by parents who can't or won't control their kids in any restaurant, nice or "kid-friendly". When mine were younger, we didn't eat out much (too many of them, not enough money) but we did train them to sit in their seats and not raise their voices. Many times, people came up to compliment us on their behavior--yet they were only doing what they should have. We often recall one trip to Epcot in which other diners kept coming to our table and thanking us and we were astonished; what kinds of awful kids were these people used to?

[ZTA72]

Originally Posted by carnation

I am appalled by parents who can't or won't control their kids in any restaurant, nice or "kid-friendly".. Many times, people came up to compliment us on their behavior--yet they were only doing what they should have.

Isn't that a great feeling? We had this happen many times (with our twins).
Hats off to you Carnation! Hope you had a great Mother's Day last weekend.We are celebrating today since my girls were out of the country last Sunday.

[Benzgirl]

One word to Fine Dining: NO!

As a frequent flyer, I dread flights on weekends and pray for an upgrade to First Class. Luckily, most flights at 6am on a Monday morning are business travelers.

[IrishLake]

Originally Posted by carnation

Many times, people came up to compliment us on their behavior--yet they were only doing what they should have.

we have had the same thing happen to us (when at church and when out to eat), and it is an awesome feeling. especially when there's other kids around being very loud or distracting to others.

[ZTAngel]

I was at Cheesecake Factory a few months ago with a friend. The hostess directed us to our table which happened to be next to a family with three toddlers were running wild around the restaurant. I asked the hostess to find us a different table. She gave me this look that screamed "CHILD HATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I'm certainly not and would like some of my own one day. I just don't want to be annoyed throughout my meal whether it's at the Cheesecake Factory or Bacchanalia (Atlanta fine dining restaurant).

One of the worst experiences I had was at Chili's which, of course, is a family friendly restaurant. That still doesn't give kids a free pass to act up. There were two kids ages 3 and 5 in the booth behind us with mom and grandma. The kids had been throwing stuff and screaming the whole meal. While the older child threw a massive temper-tantrum on the ground (complete with kicking the floor and booth), the younger child crawled up the booth and began dangling over to our side. I yelped when this kid's face ended up right in mine because it scared the living crap out of me. Grandma said calmly, "No-no, Jacob. We don't do that." My grandparents or parents would've dragged me to the car and whooped my butt!! I asked the hostess if we could be moved and both she and the kids' family looked at me like I was some sort of monster for not finding the kids to be cute!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by ZTAngel

I was at Cheesecake Factory a few months ago with a friend. The hostess directed us to our table which happened to be next to a family with three toddlers were running wild around the restaurant. I asked the hostess to find us a different table. She gave me this look that screamed "CHILD HATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I'm certainly not and would like some of my own one day. I just don't want to be annoyed throughout my meal whether it's at the Cheesecake Factory or Bacchanalia (Atlanta fine dining restaurant).

One of the worst experiences I had was at Chili's which, of course, is a family friendly restaurant. That still doesn't give kids a free pass to act up. There were two kids ages 3 and 5 in the booth behind us with mom and grandma. The kids had been throwing stuff and screaming the whole meal. While the older child threw a massive temper-tantrum on the ground (complete with kicking the floor and booth), the younger child crawled up the booth and began dangling over to our side. I yelped when this kid's face ended up right in mine because it scared the living crap out of me. Grandma said calmly, "No-no, Jacob. We don't do that." My grandparents or parents would've dragged me to the car and whooped my butt!! I asked the hostess if we could be moved and both she and the kids' family looked at me like I was some sort of monster for not finding the kids to be cute!

This is what I hate more than anything. If you want to bring your children to more family-friendly restaurants, that's fine. However, you still need to control them!

I used to work in a local bar/restaurant in Erie, PA. During the day, especially on weekends, people would bring their younger children in for a meal. For the most part, none of them had acted up to a great extent... except on Sundays... during football season... on the days when the only place you could catch a Steelers game was out at a restaurant or bar, because the game was "blacked out".

The restaurant would be PACKED, and trying to maneuver around tables and people was next to impossible... especially while trying to carry dishes to and from the kitchen. And there were ALWAYS those parents who let their kids run around like crazy.

And my favorite line from parents, after their kid runs into me and starts crying: "See, I told you that would happen if you acted like that." Uh.. that's why you grab them and say, "Cut it out or we're leaving!" BEFORE anything like that happens.

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

My mom says that all the time - that she loves flying. Then again, she's only flown for pleasure, and not on a crappy prop plane with less than 20 seats, or on a red-eye home from the west to the east coast because your boss was too cheap to flip for a hotel room. That flight was awful - we had flown one of the crappy newer airlines and get this - they couldn't land in Boston because of fog - their pilots didn't have experience landing in fog (all other airlines were landing and taking off). I woke up around 8am as we were circling above Ohio, and asked the chick next to me what was up. She said that Logan had sent us to circle Ohio an hour and a half earlier.

First of all, I love flying and I HAVE been on those crappy flights... And I've also been on those planes with less than 20 seats (because when flying out of Erie, you really don't have a choice). You get used to the crazy flying patterns and being able to see the runway while landing because there's no door between you and the cockpit

And I have to ask... that awful flight with the fog... when was that? Because when I was in college, I was flying home for spring break and I was heading into Manchester, NH from Detriot. The pilot gave us updates every so often, and started talking about it being foggy. Later we were told we were circling the Manchester airport waiting for the ok to land. Then later we were told that we were unable to land, that we couldn't be diverted to Logan because too many flights were already landing there (and they were having trouble with fog, too), and that we'd have to fly back to Detriot.

I spent the night in the airport, slept on the floor (for maybe an hour) and was sick all week.

But I still like flying! ... I just don't like when things go wrong. Obviously.

[honeychile]

In each case, it's the parenting that failed. If a child flips out in a restaurant, IMHO, the parent should scoop up said child and take them outside until they can behave. It happens, I've seen it happen. One wonderful father even had his son apologize to the people seated next to them - in a family restaurant. And there is no excuse for children to be running and screaming in ANY restaurant - even McDonald's! If a parent gives in to the behavior in one place, the kids only get confused as to when they may act up.

My favorite restaurant technique, though, belongs to a dear friend of mine. She has a friend who teaches "etiquette for young ladies and gentlemen". When a child becomes out of control, she whips out the friend's business card, gives it to the parent(s), and says, "Hope this helps!" in a friendly way. They get the idea very quickly.

As for flying, I always tease about "the mandatory crying baby" on each flight. I try very hard to realize that tiny ears may be hurting due to the take off and landing, yet when older children are bratty, and the parents refuse to do something about it, I will tell the flight attendant and tell her that she can point out the complaintant (me). That way, the airline isn't blamed, I am - and I couldn't care less about what undisciplined people think of me.

Seriously, the only decent flight anymore is the chartered airplane!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I used to work in a local bar/restaurant in Erie, PA. During the day, especially on weekends, people would bring their younger children in for a meal. For the most part, none of them had acted up to a great extent... except on Sundays... during football season... on the days when the only place you could catch a Steelers game was out at a restaurant or bar, because the game was "blacked out".

Tangent...why would they black out Steeler games? It's not like they weren't all sellouts. Do you mean the local affiliate was playing a different game instead (I'm guessing Cleveland)? That's not the same thing as a blackout.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Tangent...why would they black out Steeler games? It's not like they weren't all sellouts. Do you mean the local affiliate was playing a different game instead (I'm guessing Cleveland)? That's not the same thing as a blackout.

Yes, this is what I meant. But everyone would refer to them as being blacked out. Crazy Erie Pennsylvanian speak

[agzg]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Tangent...why would they black out Steeler games? It's not like they weren't all sellouts. Do you mean the local affiliate was playing a different game instead (I'm guessing Cleveland)? That's not the same thing as a blackout.

Most of the time they play the Bills in Erie. I assume that's because no one in Erie watches or likes the Bills.

We watched a lot of great Steelers games at Sullivan's.