Film at 11: No Velociraptors

[athelind]

Restaurant Says "NO" to Screaming Children

Excerpt the First:

A restaurant in Carolina Beach is stirring up controversy over a couple of signs reading, "Screaming children will not be tolerated."

Excerpt the Second:

"I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."

YES. YES, YOU CAN.

You can either pay attention to them -- and that includes "discipline", if need be -- or you can stay the BLEEP home and take care of them.

You can even find a baby sitter, if you just need some out-of-the-house time and a break from parenting.

When I first reacted to this story, hoodahdc said, "Athe is angry about babies."

No, Athe is angry about parents.

Nine times out of ten, when I see some kid screaming its head off in a restaurant or a mall or in my BLEEPing store, the parents are blithely ignoring it and doing their damnedest to hold a conversation over their progeny's howls.

I would, for the record, consider the stereotypical parental brush-off of "not now, dear, Mommy's talking" that is media shorthand for "parental neglect" vastly superior to the parents I see who flat-out ignore their offspring.

So yes. YES. Hooray for Brenda Armes, and I hope beyond hope that she's the harbinger of a trend.

Comments

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of the coffee shop that posted a sign, "Unattended children will be given free coffee and a puppy."

-The Gneech

Gneech - please see userpic :)

[snobahr.livejournal.com]

My parents were also of the "take the troublesome child outside and Have Words" school of thought. When my boy starts acting up, we stop what we're doing, I kneel so I'm at his eye level, and state quietly, emphatically, that his behaviour is unacceptable and guarantees that he's not going to get [item he's having a tantrum over]. This threat is most effective when we're at Disneyland, because being able to say "I'll take you home and let Nana (his grandmother) watch you for the rest of the day, and I'll come back here and have fun without you" is hardly empty at all - we live 30 miles from the park and I have free parking.

I love my son immensely, and I will not see him turn into a self-absorbed, self-entitled git with no clue on how to behave in public. I loathe children who can't behave in a restaurant, and I absolutely detest the parents which allow that behaviour to continue unchecked.