Comments on: Can We See the Kid’s Menu? http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/ Food & Drink In Toronto Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:04:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Sheryl Kirby http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/comment-page-1/#comment-61 Sheryl Kirby Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:07:28 +0000 http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/#comment-61 Barney - Absolutely agree! I recall having "the phear" put into me early on, although the only place we got to go as kids was either McDonald's or maybe the lunch counter at Woolworth's, Simpson's or for a more fancy outing, the cafeteria at Eaton's. Damn, I'm dating myself here, aren't I? The first "fancy" restaurant I can remember going to with my folks was Ponderosa and even then, we were warned to be on our best behaviour. Alexandra - agree with you as well. Every situation I've encountered where kids have been allowed to misbehave in restaurants is because of exactly that - they were ALLOWED to misbehave. The parents either sat by and watched it happen, or were too self-involved. I was at a brunch place recently where a toddler made it out the door and onto the front sidewalk because his parents and their dining companions were too busy comparing tattoos to keep an eye on him. Barney - Absolutely agree! I recall having "the phear" put into me early on, although the only place we got to go as kids was either McDonald's or maybe the lunch counter at Woolworth's, Simpson's or for a more fancy outing, the cafeteria at Eaton's. Damn, I'm dating myself here, aren't I? The first "fancy" restaurant I can remember going to with my folks was Ponderosa and even then, we were warned to be on our best behaviour.

Alexandra - agree with you as well. Every situation I've encountered where kids have been allowed to misbehave in restaurants is because of exactly that - they were ALLOWED to misbehave. The parents either sat by and watched it happen, or were too self-involved. I was at a brunch place recently where a toddler made it out the door and onto the front sidewalk because his parents and their dining companions were too busy comparing tattoos to keep an eye on him.

]]> By: Alexandra http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Alexandra Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:47:40 +0000 http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/#comment-60 Kids have a special place in our live, we have four of them. We are also an authority on dining, we own a restaurant. What do I think about kids in restaurants, Glad you ask. I think kids should be allowed in restaurants, but they should also behave when they are there, but that means, Mom and Dad should keep them in tow. I get very upset about kids behaving badly, but it is even worse when the parents don't take care of them. Shame on those parents. Truly, I think if it is a fine dining place, leave them at home PLEASE. There is always somebody else in the dining room that decided to spent money on a baby-sitter, and their meal could be easily spoiled by rotten kids. If kids behave it is still not appropriate for certain restaurants, if they do not have a kids menu, that should say it loud and clear. DO NOT BRING THEM! I am in the process of writing a book about dining with kids. Hope it will go over well!!! Kids have a special place in our live, we have four of them. We are also an authority on dining, we own a restaurant. What do I think about kids in restaurants, Glad you ask. I think kids should be allowed in restaurants, but they should also behave when they are there, but that means, Mom and Dad should keep them in tow. I get very upset about kids behaving badly, but it is even worse when the parents don't take care of them. Shame on those parents. Truly, I think if it is a fine dining place, leave them at home PLEASE. There is always somebody else in the dining room that decided to spent money on a baby-sitter, and their meal could be easily spoiled by rotten kids. If kids behave it is still not appropriate for certain restaurants, if they do not have a kids menu, that should say it loud and clear. DO NOT BRING THEM! I am in the process of writing a book about dining with kids. Hope it will go over well!!!

]]> By: barney http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/comment-page-1/#comment-59 barney Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:42:49 +0000 http://www.tasteto.com/2007/03/29/can-we-see-the-kids-menu/#comment-59 As kids in the '70s and early '80s my sister and I got to go to some pretty fancy restaurants and never caused any problems. It was well understood even at that young age that if we misbehaved then going to fancy restaurants would stop (we liked eating out) and if we seriously misbehaved we were in line for a good whack (that rarely happenned but the threat was there.) Our parents were consistent in punishing bad behaviour. This contrasted with family friends who were wildly inconsistent and as a result the kids were frequently causing problems. As a childless adult now, I just want to strangle parents who have misbehaving children especially at restaurants where children shouldn't, in most cases, be. If you want to go someplace fancy or even semi-fancy and your kids are incapble of behaving then don't be a tight-wad, hire a damn babysitter! You're going to be blowing some serious cash anyways on food that your kid(s) aren't going to eat anyway so put that towards a babysitter instead. As kids in the '70s and early '80s my sister and I got to go to some pretty fancy restaurants and never caused any problems. It was well understood even at that young age that if we misbehaved then going to fancy restaurants would stop (we liked eating out) and if we seriously misbehaved we were in line for a good whack (that rarely happenned but the threat was there.) Our parents were consistent in punishing bad behaviour. This contrasted with family friends who were wildly inconsistent and as a result the kids were frequently causing problems.

As a childless adult now, I just want to strangle parents who have misbehaving children especially at restaurants where children shouldn't, in most cases, be. If you want to go someplace fancy or even semi-fancy and your kids are incapble of behaving then don't be a tight-wad, hire a damn babysitter! You're going to be blowing some serious cash anyways on food that your kid(s) aren't going to eat anyway so put that towards a babysitter instead.

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