A restaurant in the beautiful state of North Carolina has been getting some attention lately for posting a simple computer print-out sign on their door. The sign says:
I certainly understand why some parents are taking offense at the sign. In fact, I once did a blog post about one Mom who was outraged at the “mistreatment” she and her sister received in a restaurant when the child accompanying them pitched a loud tantrum between the caesar salad and the Creme Brulee. She was furious. She felt discriminated against. Misunderstood. Mistreated by the collective patrons who rolled their eyes and sighed noticeably as she “tried” to control her toddler.
Oh, the horror.
Well, you know what? I have two kids. And they can, occasionally, behave like little hellions in a restaurant or a grocery store or at Target or on the playground or…you get the point. They’re kids. They suck sometimes. Yours, his, hers, mine. Kids can act like such little a**holes. They can’t help it. They have a completely under-developed sense of public decorum and, as parents, you may be Ozzie and Harriet or you may be Sid and Nancy and it just doesn’t matter. Kids lose it. And, when they do, (I believe) it’s up to you to deal with it.
“Stop it.
Now.
Or, you’re outta here.”
And when your best efforts fail, you should be considerate of the rest of the public world and drag ’em out by their ears into a more private place until they shut. the. heck. up.
So, bravo to The Olde Salty Restaurant in Carolina Beach. Bravo for taking a stand.
Because when Mr. and Mrs. Clueless saunter in with Little Junior Clueless and they decide to coddle and coo and plead with the little punk for fifteen minutes as he screams and whines and disturbs everyone else in the restaurant?
Well, you go right ahead and show them the door.
Cause someone’s gotta act like the parents.
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totally agree!!! i have been sent over to your blog by sloan who suggested i check out your post on the Outer Banks…we are making the 11 hour trip from MA for a wedding in Whalehead…and now i can’t stop reading ALL of your posts!!!
oh, you will LOVE the outer banks. whalehead is a part of corolla where we were this year, having been in duck all the prior years. it’s all great. enjoy it.
thanks for reading! subscribe via facebook if you want to keep seeing updates. i’m going to check yours out too.
Hell yeah! I didn’t bring my kids to nice restaurants to disturb others around me. There’s nothing worse than screaming kids in restaurants. I used to work at a VERY casual cafe and the owner purposely did not have a kid’s menu or provide booster seats b/c she didn’t want kids there. At such a casual place that was a bit OTT, but it was nice not to have to wait on screaming kids.
It makes me think of a sign once that said, “Unattended children will be given a coffee and free puppy.”
When we would go out to eat with our grandchildren when they were little (not babies), if either of them started acting up, she would say, “Do we need to go find the restroom?” That meant, “Do we need to have a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting?” That put an immediate stop to any bad behavior! The other patrons who have been looking forward to a nice evening out do not need to deal with other people’s children.
By the way, I love your blog. You are on my blogroll.