RULY kids in restaurants

[realisticphish]

I was having dinner with my family (at Spaghetti Warehouse) when they visited my at school. A family sat near us with three kids, all bout age 4 or 5. And they were quiet and polite, and were very well-behaved. My mom went over after we were done, and told them how much we appreciated their kids being so quiet and polite. It shocked me (actually going over and telling them that), but then i thought, it shouldn't. If we all did that more often, perhaps parents would be more inclined to get their kids to be quiet :shrug:

[name not needed]

1. KId hater!

[realisticphish]

2. taser lover!

[unsavedtrash]

3. My sisters and I were not allowed

to go out to eat until we were nearing 12 years old. My mom thought that children in general were too full of energy to be expected to sit still for so long. She also hated having children run through the restaurant when she was trying to enjoy her meal.

[realisticphish]

4. my parents took us everywhere

but when we were loud, they either got us to be quiet immediately, or took us outside. they said my sister and i never had any problems :shrug:

[hlthe2b]

6. Ditto...

My parents were very careful not to reinforce bad behavior. We learned very early that temper tantrums backfired or at least got us nowhere.

[realisticphish]

7. we would whine

"we want ____", they say "i don't care, you aren't getting it."

this is why i had no gaming system before college, and just got a cell phone late in my second year at college (and only then because im paying for it) :D

in return for not just getting us whatever we wanted, my parents were pretty lax about letting us go to friends houses, overnights, etc

[Pirate Smile]

5. I had that happen once when my kids were going through a well-behaved

phase. It made me feel great and I emphasized the praise with the kids also.

Positive reinforcement is always great.O8)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

8. That's when I offer to buy them dessert or something...

I love it when kids that little are well behaved. Some parents don't care if their kids are bugging other people. Some people have their heads so far up their asses they don't know and when you try to tell them, they think you're being rude and hateful. It's so annoying.
Duckie

[realisticphish]

9. yeah

"don't tell me how to raise my kids!"
:eyes:

ok, then don't tell me how to not stab you with a salad fork

[LynzM]

11. LMAO

"ok, then don't tell me how to not stab you with a salad fork"

:rofl

[YellowRubberDuckie]

12. LOL

I nearly fell off the bed with that last statement. HAHAHA
Duckie

[AlCzervik]

10. I only have one so maybe it's a little easier for us when we go out

she's 10 and we've always taken her with us when we go out to dinner, she learned at an early age that when you sit down you put your napkin on your lap and you always say please and thank you. The one thing that has helped with that is something i used to tell her when we went into stores, most stores and supermarkets have security cameras so one day when she was about 3 she asked what they were and i told her they were Santa cams and if you were misbehaving the Santa camera would see it and he'd know. I think for a long time that she thought store employees were agents of the north pole so she never threw a fit in a store and i think that carried over to restaurants. Deceitful on my part, you bet but i' was effective and i know my kid has never ruined anyone else's dining experience.

[smbolisnch]

17. A little girl in line at the grocery store this Xmas thought the same.

She was about 6 or 7 and kept looking at the cameras and then looking at me as if "I should know". I smiled and looked at her dad and he reminded her that Santa was watching. I thought that was genius on his part, and quite adorable on hers. ;)

[Festivito]

13. I step up and congratulate people on good parenting. They need it.

Quietly of course. "I just think you must be doing a pretty good job with those kids. Good job."

When I endure a difficult child, at least when I keep my mouth shut, I feel a little extra balance in my life.

[48pan]

14. My dad would have...

kicked my ass if I acted up at a restaurant.

[kiraboo]

15. I just can't always blame the parents. I have three kids. The first

two were manageable. They learned at an early age how to behave, and they behaved. My third child was a different story. He has been difficult to deal with from the first day. He's loveable, cute and ENERGETIC. And forgetful. And aggressive. We're still working on him, but there's a long road ahead, and he's almost six. So I believe that some kids are just tougher than others.

[realisticphish]

18. o yeah

but theres a difference between struggling with a child who is by nature very active, and just ignoring the fact that they are being disruptive.

i do agree though...my mother is a teacher, and i have seen firsthand the wide variety of young personalities

[kiraboo]

21. You're right. I don't mean to say that some parents aren't just

too indulgent. I know plenty who are.

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. I do this all the time when kids are well behaved. I'd rather be

complimented than glared at. And I agree...positive rewards usually work better than negative ones. But I do expect anything to happen when we go out in public. If I want a quiet dinner, I stay home. :hi:

[realisticphish]

19. that's true

there are plenty of adults who are loud too, and just the sheer fact that you are in public opens you up to all the "outside world" bullshit ;)

[onager]

20. I complimented a parent after a flight once...

Business Class, L.A. to London, about 12 hours.

Before takeoff, as usual, I was scoping out the other passengers to see which ones were already whinging, and therefore likely to be Winged Assholes once we took off.

There was a 10-yr-old girl sitting across the aisle from me. My first thought was: "WTF is SHE doing in Business Class?" Then I prepared myself for a miserable flight.

I was totally wrong. The kid behaved better than most of the adults. She asked some intelligent questions of me and the Flight Attendants, because it was her first flight ever and she was pretty excited about it. And I helped her with that piece of metal origami, the fold-out tray. But sometimes I need help with those myself.

Her mother was waiting for her at Heathrow, and I just went over and told her the kid was very polite and pleasant to travel with.

She thanked me. And looked relieved. ;)