If You Don't Want Kids in Restaurants,
You Should Just Stay Home
BonAppetit,
by
Jessica Blankenship
Original Article
Posted By: GustoGrabber,
2/17/2023 4:43:46 AM
On February 9, New Jersey Italian restaurant Nettie’s House of Spaghetti, despite having a name that makes it sound like a children’s restaurant, issued a statement across its social media accounts that beginning in early March, they would no longer allow children under 10 to dine at the restaurant.
The announcement made headlines and points to the perennial debate over whether banning kids under a certain age from eating at restaurants is reasonable. This debate is, of course, not new. There will always be a steady stream of new children coming to restaurants with their parents, and some of those children will act in accordance with their developmental tendencies.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
PChristopher 2/17/2023 4:59:41 AM (No. 1404918)
Yeah, well, the issue is that many parents today don't make their kids behave or teach them manners, which makes the dining experience so much the worse for others diners. My brother and I went to restaurants with our parents and we were taught to mind our behavior or we would get an unvarnished recitation of The Riot Act.
73 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
franq 2/17/2023 5:47:53 AM (No. 1404936)
How is this different than requiring a certain mode of dress? I don't have a problem with it. The rub will be enforcing it.... will we start issuing ID cards to prove kids' age?
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
HisHandmaiden 2/17/2023 5:59:21 AM (No. 1404938)
“Taking a shared interest in the raising of the community’s children is an innately human practice that has all but disappeared from our lives. If tolerating other people’s kids in restaurants so they can learn to be people in the world is the last remaining expression of community-centered child-rearing, then I am solidly in favor of defending it.”
Amen.
MAGA
13 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
hershey 2/17/2023 6:11:39 AM (No. 1404943)
When we brought up our 3 children, it was 'be seen and not be heard' as the rule of the day when eating out..some parents are NOT teaching their children manners to use in public...to try and order/eat with a screaming yelling child at the next table, or even a few tables away, removes a pleasant experience from my day...plus it overdrives my hearing aids...my solution is pull the aid...but then I can't converse with my spouse...
25 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
DiegoDude 2/17/2023 6:21:32 AM (No. 1404958)
The real problem is parents who don't teach their kids how to behave in public. Go to a restaurant and look at a family eating and what do you see 9 out of 10 times? Parents staring at their phones and no interaction with each other or their kids.
50 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Strike3 2/17/2023 6:28:19 AM (No. 1404965)
Majority of posters are correct. Look beyond the misbehaving children and you will see a certain type of parent. They allow toys on the table, standing in the seats and the volume of the kids' voices are in the extremely high decibel range. Just like you see at the zoo.
40 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Lala 2/17/2023 6:33:09 AM (No. 1404968)
When I was a kid, on those rare instances that we could afford to eat out, all my mom would have to say is, “Do we need to go to the car?” I wasn’t quite sure what would happen if we did, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.
55 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
chefrandy 2/17/2023 6:42:39 AM (No. 1404973)
Then, in Ms. Blankenship's restaurant utopia, and as noted by posters above, the "community" should feel free to not only acknowledge good behavior of children in restaurants but also to admonish parents who apparently haven't figured out the community standards of dining out with children. Children aren't always going to be a reflection of their home life or parenting, sometimes they're just off the reservation, however, astute parents can recognize this and for the betterment of all, remove themselves/child(ren) from the situation. Unfortunately, shame and manners and the lack thereof, do fall squarely on the parents.
25 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
watashiyo 2/17/2023 6:53:03 AM (No. 1404979)
Don't care to spend over $300.00 to tolerate misbehaving children and parents in the restaurant. Go to Starbucks, Chucky Cheese, or Mcdonald's for a lesson on table manners.
20 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
skacmar 2/17/2023 6:56:35 AM (No. 1404982)
The restaurant would not need to ban children under 10 if parents would use common sense and good judgment in choosing where to go out to eat. Some restaurants are clearly not child friendly. Others depend on the kids level of maturity and patience. That is where the parents judgment comes in. Unfortunately, many self centered people today don't care that their poor choices may lead to poor dining experiences for them, their kids, and everyone else in the restaurant.
18 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Urgent Fury 2/17/2023 7:05:39 AM (No. 1404989)
The problem isn't having kids in restaurants. It's their idiot "parents" who let them act like wolves.
28 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 2/17/2023 7:08:41 AM (No. 1404996)
That is a very mature attitude from Jessica Blankenship, not.
7 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 2/17/2023 7:12:21 AM (No. 1404999)
One more comment. A couple at a church we used to belong to would have their toddler sit in a high chair and put the food on the tray so the child could play in it. It was smeared from one end to the other. Gross. Also, would let the child go into a church cabinet and let the child unload everything and play with the contents. I did not have children at the time but that was a learning lesson for me. What a waste of food and no respect for church property. . .
18 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
crunchycon 2/17/2023 7:12:53 AM (No. 1405000)
Late Boomer here, but back in the old days, instilling table manners in kids was considered Parenting 101. Nightly dinners when we were very young were manners coaching sessions for our poor parents. Due to our father’s job, we as a family had to eat in a number of white-tablecloth restaurants and, from the age of four or five, could order our own food and manage cutlery beautifully. We were also “seen and not heard” unless we were addressed. We were not perfect children at all, but it is possible to teach kids how to behave in public.
Many years later, as a server in a casual dinner house, my biggest concern was kids racing underfoot, parents oblivious, while I was navigating steps with trays of food or worse, hot coffee. My parents would definitely have taken us to woodshed for that.
27 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Rinktum 2/17/2023 7:25:23 AM (No. 1405006)
Children are not the problem. It’s the parents. Parents are too busy accommodating their children’s every desire to teach them manners and how to conduct themselves in public. They are also too busy with their phones to interact with their children. How many times have we seen unruly children acting out while mom and dad are glued to their phones oblivious to the disturbance their children are making? It is totally frustrating. I don’t care if it’s a ritzy restaurant or a fast food joint, parents control your children and if you cannot, eat at home.
26 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
ByteGuru 2/17/2023 7:42:52 AM (No. 1405017)
Despite the tone of the headline the article eventually and correctly gets around to the real cause of this issue: parenting or lack thereof. "Yes Ma'am / Sir" when addressing an adult is one of the first rules that should be taught to the young. When in public be 'seen and not heard' and 'politely speak only when spoken to' tops the list also. Of course 'respect given should be respect returned' plays into it also. Striking a balance is the goal and it really is not that hard to learn.
My Mom used the line "don't do anything that you would not like your GrandMa to see" enough times that it also popped up when raising our tribe.
15 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Californian 2/17/2023 7:46:46 AM (No. 1405020)
None of these bad parents are oblivious.
They just don't care what their kids are doing, how they're ruining other people's dining experience or anything else.
And no, it is not "the community's" job to civilize other people's children for them. As if that would happen anyway. No one is going to risk getting stabbed by one of these barbarians.
20 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Connor 2/17/2023 8:05:10 AM (No. 1405031)
I strongly disagree. We rarely eat out because it is so expensive. Screaming and undisciplined kids can ruin a meal and I have observed it many times. Keep your brats at home unless you have taught them manners. I welcome a restaurant that restricts children.
29 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
downnout 2/17/2023 8:11:25 AM (No. 1405037)
The writer is off-base on this one. It isn’t unreasonable to expect civility and good manners at a restaurant. If your little darlings are still at the throwing everything on the floor stage of development, please…wait a year or two before taking them to a restaurant. It is NOT the responsibility of other patrons or staff to monitor your children.
21 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
czechlist 2/17/2023 8:17:56 AM (No. 1405041)
Dammit I hate having to make choices. There are establishments in my area which still allow smoking. I get to choose whether I go to them or not. I have this ancient belief that when a proprietor invests their time and money into their business they should have some control over it. Don't like it, don't go there. If they make money, good for them. If they lose money they will adapt or go out of business. It is called the free market.
25 people like this.
I am tolerant of the children who are having a melt down, but not tolerant of their parents who are ignoring it.
Often they put up with it at home and don't even notice it anymore.
5 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
jimincalif 2/17/2023 9:09:21 AM (No. 1405096)
As other posters have said, it’s not that kids act inappropriately, it’s what the parents do or don’t do. We raised four kids and took them out to a sit down family type restaurant regularly. If they misbehaved to where it would possibly disturb other customers and would not stop we told them they would sit out in the car while the rest of the family finished eating. I had to actually do this - just once - with my younger son. I was out there maybe 20 minutes with him while my wife and the rest of the kids finished. We never really had any restaurant discipline problems with any of them after that.
8 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Pammie 2/17/2023 9:11:32 AM (No. 1405103)
Just a thought which many people cannot have any more: Children are too young for restaurants, so children should also be too young for all this experimental jabs and gender actions! GEEZE!
6 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
3XALADY 2/17/2023 9:13:26 AM (No. 1405106)
Just removing the availability of high chairs would take care of not having the smaller children.
4 people like this.
Reply 25 - Posted by:
TJ54 2/17/2023 9:17:15 AM (No. 1405114)
There is not a comment section for the original article - figures
4 people like this.
Reply 26 - Posted by:
TJ54 2/17/2023 9:22:19 AM (No. 1405123)
If you check the restaurant’s menu there is no kids menu and it is fairly expensive for Italian food. I would not take my children there
2 people like this.
Reply 27 - Posted by:
chumley 2/17/2023 9:24:39 AM (No. 1405126)
In my experience most kids act great in restaurants. Its when they dont we pay attention. Some have been absolute monsters. Glad mine were always good. The humiliation of having a terror would have been way too much.
1 person likes this.
Reply 28 - Posted by:
felixcat 2/17/2023 9:37:01 AM (No. 1405150)
FTA: "Taking a shared interest in the raising of the community’s children is an innately human practice that has all but disappeared from our lives." Really? Like school boards kicking parents out of school board meetings? Tell me Jessica - when you go to some three star Michelin restaurant, are you enjoying your luxe meal with children running around? Doubt it.
7 people like this.
Reply 29 - Posted by:
MickTurn 2/17/2023 9:41:48 AM (No. 1405160)
It isn't the Kids that are the Problem, it's the Karen Mommies and Jackazz Daddies!
2 people like this.
Reply 30 - Posted by:
columba 2/17/2023 10:43:19 AM (No. 1405231)
I suspect that the majority of males and females who complain about children in restaurants are hiding from the time when they killed an unborn child.
0 people like this.
Reply 31 - Posted by:
DVC 2/17/2023 10:51:43 AM (No. 1405244)
Nah. Toss out the misbehaving ones, let the well behaved kids stay.
0 people like this.
Reply 32 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/17/2023 11:29:44 AM (No. 1405278)
Jessica is a flaming lib.
2 people like this.
Reply 33 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/17/2023 11:54:46 AM (No. 1405309)
Jessica is patheticaly off the mark.
What will the rude or naughty children learn in a restaurant from other “patient” guests that their own parents have not taught them?
3 people like this.
Reply 34 - Posted by:
Birddog 2/17/2023 12:04:31 PM (No. 1405320)
One of the things my parents did, after "Formal dinner" nights at home, where everyone would dress up, sit at formal place settings in the dining room, with the full layout of plates, glasses, silverware, lessons in decorum and 'dinner' conversation. was..."Date nights".
Each child was granted a one on one dinner with each parent...at a nice restaurant, in rotation. With the individual attention every child longs for. Even our grand parents got into the act...requesting a "special" dinner with each kid on/near their birthday. Taking us to THEIR favorite restaurant, where the waiters/owners knew them by name, and made quite a fuss over each of us kids...even the Chef would come out and get introduced to us, asking if we wanted something special, or asking if we were pleased with our meal...personally delivering our food, a dessert, or a cake. (My favorite place had a tank with live lobsters, in the midwest, and I was allowed to choose which one I wanted, and even allowed to order TWO prime ribs, or one cut double thick....instead of cake I always wanted Creme Brule...On FIRE, was soooo cool)
We also were introduced to wines....good wines.
Some of the Date nights included symphony events, operas, museum events, gallery openings,even cocktail/formal events...as well as shooting club stuff, hunting/fishing trips, even a flight on a small plane.
This same author seems to think..."If you don't want kids in dancehalls, dive bars, strip clubs, adult theaters...YOU should stay home"
4 people like this.
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