Posted on 11/14/2005 5:51:48 AM PST by Cagey
Parent Says Restaurant Offers Kid Food, So It Should Cater To Kids
"We were surprised at how many times we would see children really out of control," McCauley said. "And we actually had people leaving the bakery because the children were so out of control."
So, he put a sign on the door at kids' eye-level, asking children of all ages to use their "indoor voices."
"We thought it was just a friendly reminder to people that when they come here, just be considerate of the people around them. We had no idea the kind of controversy that was going to explode out of this," McCauley said.
But some parents who spoke with NBC5's Natalie Martinez took immediate offense to the sign. The angry mothers said there are plenty of places in the Andersonville neighborhood where they can take their kids, even if they're acting out.
"I've e-mailed friends and said, 'Just so you know, this man has a sign up. I know there are lots of other options, and I'd encourage you not to go there,'" parent Kate Bremmer said.
When she spoke with Martinez, Bremmer and her kids were picking out goodies at a Swedish bakery, where all kids are welcome.
"Our custom has been to offer a cookie to every child that comes into the store for as long as I can remember," said Kathy Stanton-Cromwell, the co-owner of the bakery, which is just a few doors down from A Taste of Heaven.
Stanton-Cromwell said the cookie serves as "a good calmer" for kids who are acting up.
Bremmer said A Taste of Heaven "is not a five-star restaurant," so she thinks it should cater to kids, not the other way around.
"They offer ice cream cones and cookies and lots things that kids love, and therefore, I don't think that they should make such an issue of it," Bremmer said.
Other parents enjoying lunch with their kids at A Taste of Heaven were more diplomatic.
"I have mixed feelings about it. It's a little off-putting," one mother said.
Linda Wallace, also a mother who eats at A Taste of Heaven, said she thought McCauley was "sort of brave" for putting up the sign.
"It did cross my mind that he might offend some people," she said.
McCauley said he loves kids, although he has none of his own. He said he has no immediate plans to take the sign down.
I don't see the problem, other than we live in a time when some parents seem to think it's "damaging to a childs self esteem" to say no. FYI, Dr. Spock's son committed suicide, so apparantly he didn't know it all. Parents need to control their kids, not the other way around.
This "boycott" is an excellent opportunity for the muppy "me me me" Moms to expose themselves for the idiots they are.
These offended NYC Moms who bristle at their children being asked to use good manners in the bakery are the self same idiots that start a$$-kissing private school administrators before the baby's even whelped to get them into the "right" preschools.
Am I correctly understanding you to say that well behaved kids have no personality? Why would you think that?
susie
You are correct. Kids are just kids; however, even the littlest of children need to be taught there is a time and a place for loud behavior, and inside a restaurant isn't one of those places where kids should feel comfortable to let loose. It's simply a question of learning good manners.
DH and I always take our kids outside if they act up when we are dining out. A few minutes standing outside typcially does the trick.
I was once dining with some friends when some lady would not do anything about her loud kid. After we've all had enough, Tom slammed his fork down and YELLED at the mother, "Lady, stuff a sock in that kid's mouth!"
The restaurant fell silent.
She took the kid outside and we finished our meal in peace. What amazed me was how many smiles and "thumbs up" we got from the other customers.
This restaurant deserves more business.
And a sugar cookie!
"It used to be in the "good old days" that parents were in control, not any more"
When my kids are out, I get compliments on their behavior from strangers all the time after observing my children for only a minute or two. I think this is so sad. Kids are so out of control that a well behaved child is a novelty.
You should have spit in his face as an added bonus.
The kid's too.
If you don't beat your kids when they need it, somebody else will.
Some of us remember childhood half a century or more ago. We know how it CAN be. We know how children CAN behave. We know that children CAN be taught to respect others. We know how classrooms CAN be controlled. We know that theaters CAN make noisy people leave. We know how parents CAN teach and discipline little ones. We know that adults being annoyed by unruly children CAN ask for it to be stopped. We know that 'being the adult' is not supposed to be fun or popular or buddyville.
A challenge to all parents of little ones here: check how much corn (all forms), food coloring, chocolate and milk your little ones digest. Then go search ADHD and food together (I got 3,360,000 hits). Then try some targeted dietary changes (it's hard), and note daily behavior. Been there, done that, and allowed an ADHD-symptom child to regain calmness with no drugs.
My 3 boys were as personable and outgoing as all get out. They also were trained from an early age to understand that they were not to bother people in public. Were they perfect? Heck no. Did people enjoy having them around? For the most part, absolutely.
susie
oh what a cop-out that is. that line that "kids will be kids" is a load of crap, and rationalization for someone who is flat out failing to PARENT their kids.
It's even worse than that - I was in a store and a five year old girl was throwing a fit because her mother wouldn't buy her a toy she wanted. I heard the little girl say, "If you don't buy me this I'm gonna call Detective Services"! - Even though she got the word wrong - it's a sad state of affairs when a five year old knows enough to threaten her mother with "detective services"!
I told the little girl to stop her screaming and told her how lucky she was that I wasn't her father. I then let the mother know what I thought about her doing nothing about her brat's ten minute screaming fit. The mother said - "I just can't control her". I told the mother - if you can't control her when she's five - what are you going to do when she's 13? I then turned to the little girl and told her that if she didn't stop screaming - I was going to pull her out of the shopping cart and paddle her little butt. She stopped. I told the mother - "See how easy it is?". The mother said "She doesn't stop when I threaten her". I replied - "That's because she knows you don't mean it - and she knows that I do!"
Throw in a free set of drums - lol.
Toddler's are made to find the extents of authority. They are constantly testing the boundaries. Usually, I find that outgoing kids are the ones that talk the most and can't sit still.
Maybe I should've used the "character" instead of "personality".
You should have left or not have gone to that restaurant.
I would ban parents who fail to control their kids. Too bad the bakery business is in the toilet.
Kids will do this kind of stuff sometimes to express anger AND try to manipulate the parent. The key is how the mom handled it.
My kids each tried that once. My response was always "Maybe you do hate me right now, but you are still going to ________." When they figured out it didn't work, they didn't do it again.
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