NDR: Discuss: well-behaved kids restaurant discoun

[tarheels]

www.today.com/moms/restaurants-well-behaved-kids-discount-goes-viral-mom-shares-her-1B8271012

[finally]

How timely!  I just posted this on my FB page not even 30 minutes ago...

Nothing like trying to unwind from a long week with dinner out and sitting next to the Loud Family who thinks it's ok to loudly play video games with your kids at the table and that the whole restaurant wants to hear it. Did I mention how loud they were???  I even looked to see if either of the kids had a hearing aid thinking the parents were talking so loud b/c their child couldn't hear well.

Sadly, the kids weren't the noisy ones, it was the parents.  I was ready to request another table but saw they were done eating and just waiting to pay the bill.   It really bothers me when people don't consider those around them.  I've had equally annoying issues with other people's kids.

But I think it's a great idea!  It gives parents a little extra incentive to keep their kids well behaved.  Too often I see parents who just ignore their unruly kids.

[kristilynnmy]

I would be too embarrassed if my daughter decided to throw a tantrum or act up. I'd have to leave or at least go outside with her to calm her down. I've been lucky so far and we rarely go out to eat.

[ohjessica]

Interesting. My kids are usually fairly well behaved, that said they are kids and do have their moments, but that's when we either box everything up and leave or step outside for a bit until things calm down. I try to always take my kids to appropriate places to eat though (Friendly's, TGI Fridays, family restaurants), because I certainly know that when I didn't have kids, trying to enjoy a meal while the kid at the next tale was pitching a fit made the $$ spent not worth it. Honestly though, now that I have kids, I don't even notice when others are acting up, I've just learned to tune it out. But I digress, good incentive!

[Deleted]

A) I will never understand why parents traipse kids into non-kid restaraunts. Why would you wish that disaster upon yourself? If I'm going out for a nice evening, I want to enjoy my evening and relax. I get a babysitter. If I'm going just for an outing, spend time with my kid, see civilization and not have to cook I go to Applebees or the local dive sports bar where everyone else is.

B) I will never understand parents who don't do anything about their kids behavior either. Nobody wants to hear another kid's tantrum. Remove them already. Yes, I have a kid who can tantrum like no other sometimes. We're gone the second it starts and I work on good public behavior the best I can with an 18 month old the rest of the time. At the very least I come prepared with bribery if I really need her to be good. Kids are unpredictable, parental reactions shouldn't be.

C) Part of me is all Yay! Awesome! Good job rewarding good actions. The other part of me is all, "Do we really need to reward society yet again for applying what should be common sense?"

[auntie]

Interesting idea.

I wish there were something for my dad who is hearing aid dependent and inappropriate to the point of misogyny with female servers.

Last week DH and I hit the local bar 5 restaurant. It's a neighborhood Joint cum dive that attracts all kinds. They have a bottle shop, a takeout space (that was filled with a high school wrestling team gorging on hoy wings) and busy bar/dining room. Aside from the high schoolers and the Spanish speaking cleaners/landscapers grabbing a bite at the end of the day, the restaurant was filled with a real diverse group- a fair amount of elderly (80+), some more active seniors in small groups, a couple of middle aged same sex couples and a few family groups. One group sent chills down my spine as they entered- mom and 5 kidlets. Oldest was maybe middle school and carried his 8 month old sister like a pro- he was the one who requested a high chair and got her set up in it. The next youngest was a whiney AW in faux Uggs and a tutu who looked like she might be a problem; but turned out not to be. Mom got them settled with coloring books, video games, ordered herself a beer and waited 10 minutes for dad to show up with an additional child. They were amazingly well behaved. I was impressed.

[statlerwaldorf]

I don't like the idea of having to bribe parents with a discount to get them to control their kids, but I don't think that is what happened here.

I think it's good business. There was a similar story where an overdue woman and her family ate at Red Robin and the manager comped her meal. The receipt said something like mom 2 be good luck. These kind of things will keep people coming back and have people telling other people about the restaurant.

[Marmee]

I'm not really a fan & I have 3 girls who can happily & easily sit through a meal without making much of a peep. I just hate the judgement it requires & the pressure on parents. Yes I think kids could be better behaved at times but so could plenty of adults. Are we gonna give discounts or add surcharges to obnoxious, in appropriately dressed, or otherwise off the norm adults in restaurants next? Imagine the outrage. As common courtesy people should keep themselves & their children in check but some people just don't or in the kids case there are other circumstances playing in. Generally I think a business should take care if all customers the same by & large...I wouldn't frequent one were I thought my children & I are being watched/judged from the moment I set foot inside.