On 7/26/2015 4:58 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> I caught a small portion of a radio show about kids in restaurants. One
> women, who seemed to have some expertise on manners and training kids,
> suggest that if the place does not have high chairs..... maybe it's a
> place you should not be taking small children.

IMNSHO, if children are appropriately behaved, sure, they can and should
accompany their parents to any restaurant. BUT! Big, but!! If the
child(ren) is(are) unhappy(!!) and/or misbehaves, then the parents
should be obligated to take their child(ren) to another 'arena' (the
restroom? outside?) until their child's attitude is better suited to the
'atmosphere' of the situation --- I hope this makes sense. In no way
did I allow (my) child to disturb any other diners' experiences while at
any restaurant.

When DS was young and (rarely) exhibited unbecoming behavior, I merely
asked him, "Do you want to go to the restroom to have a 'conversation'?"
It's never wise to castigate or chastise a child (or anyone regardless
of age!) in public. Humiliation is cruel!

DS's younger cousin, on the other hand (10++ years difference), was a
virtual devil when it came to any public affair -- my brother and his
wife did nothing to teach their young child proper manners or behavior
when in public!

Is this poor parenting? An example is/was (years ago) . . . 3-year old
cousin was allowed to walk around a posh restaurant dinner table (party
of 12+ adults) for a graduation party. The child was allowed to
roam/walk everywhere along the dinner table (other diners' tables, too!)
with nary any supervision while folks dined, clamoring all over! Not in
my book - time for the child to go outside/home with their parent(s)!
Alas, teaching their very young child proper manners was not a priority
for my brother and his wife at that time

Sky