My Two Minutes on a Soapbox

Okay, I have a pet peeve and I know it is shared by many, but I feel like I am allowed to feel this way, since I have understanding of both sides. I went to a very nice restaurant last night. This restaurant had wine bottles all over, a very romantic decor, quiet music playing. The owners of this establishment obviously want it to be a nice restaurant, and the prices reflected that. Eddie and I had spent all day cooking for 100 for a catering job, and decided to celebrate after we dropped off the food.

All was well, until about halfway through our appetizer, two separate parties with small children came in. The first had 2 preschool age girls. They colored, ate, and looked at their picture books. They were fine! and didn't disturb anyone. But the other party had 4 small children, one of which was a toddler and another a baby about 8-10 months old. They were seated right next to us. And that ruined the rest of our relaxing dinner. The parents (two couples) were obviously enjoying themselves, laughing and talking loudly. They had wine... salads... all the while the kids whined and squirmed. They tried to shush them, but no one ever got up and carried them out so as not to bother others dining in the same dark quiet room. We finally finished up and left, but the whole evening had been tainted by that experience.

This is something I feel strongly about. Now, remember I have 5! children, all in a 9 year age span. So for many, many years, I lived that life. But I tried to do it in a way that didn't bother everyone else, or ask others to suffer because of my life stage. I took my kids out to eat occasionally. Sometimes it was fast food, but we also went to Luby's, Chili's and other family style restaurants, and maybe even to other nicer places. And I took babies out to eat when they were tiny and portable. But older infants and toddlers are not a good match for the nicest of restaurants. And if I found myself in a restaurant and my kids were misbehaving, either their father or I carried them outside to explore so as not to bother others. I see these parents over and over making no attempt to quiet or control their unruly kids, often even allowing them to run around in the restaurant when they are finished eating, but the parents are not. They act like they are oh, so cute.

There are other options for a quiet romantic evening with your spouse or friends. If you cannot afford a babysitter, trade nights out with a friend. Or order in and set up your own cozy dinner in your home after kids go to bed early. I used to be shocked at the people in our country who were blantantly and vocally anti-child. But now, I am beginning to see how some inconsiderate families can ruin it for all the rest of us. And it saddens me. I hate to be cynical, but I am beginning to dread it when small children come into a restaurant where I am eating. I used to see the looks on people's faces when we walked in with our brood. But on more than one occasion, those same people would come to us at the end of a meal and tell us how well-behaved our children had been. Now I know why!