Out of control kids

If you were at a restaurant sitting down at your table eating food and the table in front of you had really bad out of control kids would you say something or move to a different table?

Move to a different table. Lately in a supermarket in Germany a kid was screaming. What an annoying sound. Zjoot. Put in ear plugs.

I can easily answer this question, as I was in that situation a few months ago. We were at a restaurant and a child of perhaps five was running around, speaking loudly, and screaming at times. His mom sat oblivious to her son, and engaged on her phone. This was going on for at least twenty minutes, and our food arrived.

The kid continued his tirade, and management did nothing. At that point I left my seat, walking to the table where he and his mother (still texting) was seated. In a firm but friendly voice, I said looking directly into the boy's eyes, “ Hi, I am here with friends to have dinner, and enjoy ourselves. You are ruining it. Please sit quietly “. He did exactly that. The mom looked at me incredulously, and the restaurant manager came over to say thanks.

Jazzy wrote:

I can easily answer this question, as I was in that situation a few months ago. We were at a restaurant and a child of perhaps five was running around, speaking loudly, and screaming at times. His mom sat oblivious to her son, and engaged on her phone. This was going on for at least twenty minutes, and our food arrived.

The kid continued his tirade, and management did nothing. At that point I left my seat, walking to the table where he and his mother (still texting) was seated. In a firm but friendly voice, I said looking directly into the boy's eyes, “ Hi, I am here with friends to have dinner, and enjoy ourselves. You are ruining it. Please sit quietly “. He did exactly that. The mom looked at me incredulously, and the restaurant manager came over to say thanks.

Oh wow that's bad. I have never encountered that. Once with colleagues we ate in a pancake restaurant and there was a couple with a small kid that couldn't stop crying. They tried and they felt so bad. Most of us have kids and know what it is. One colleague said: Hey we don't mind. It's a pancake restaurant. That's for kids. Chill. It's fine. But what you describe, no wonder they want kid free restaurants. Once in the grocery store a 4 y o boy threw a tantrum. He wanted icecream. His dad had walked away and was nasty. He kept crying. I went to the boy to try comfort him and another very brave woman went to the dad to berate him LOL. I live in a flat so my kids always had to be quiet for the neighbours. Lets go to grandma who has a nice house. Oh. You also have to be silent in the train. Once they were loud in the flat and I said sssh we go to the playground from the Mc Donalds and there you may scream. We sat next to the playground with 2 other women and 2 kids. Oh boy. Mine literally SCREAMED LOUD and said: you said we could. I said to that woman: I'm so sorry. They always have to shut up. She didn't mind.