Why do People Let Their Kids Run in Restaurants?!

It's always nice to dine out. A lot of us have favorite restaurants that we will visit on certain week nights or certain days on the weekend. We all appreciate a pleasant experience when dining out, so it's very disappointing to encounter a table that lets kids run around the restaurant, disturbing other patrons.

On Sunday, my family and I decided to go to one of the restaurants in the area that we really enjoy. Everyone who works there is always very nice and we love the food. When we sat down, I noticed that the table next to us didn't have much control over the two youngest children. That always makes me nervous, because we don't go out a lot and when we do we like to enjoy the time out. It's not enjoyable when you have a child constantly bumping your table because they are running around the restaurant.

Now, I try to put myself in other people's shoes before I judge to harshly. For starters, there was only one parent with the kids. Maybe they are a single parent, or maybe their spouse was working that day, and they were trying to have a nice time with the kids. Maybe the kids are just having an off day and don't normally act like this. Maybe they are going through a hard time, and just needed to get out of the house.

I tried. I really did try to put myself in their shoes, but when you leave the table for an extended period of time, and the kids are just running around the restaurant, it's hard not to be annoyed. If there had been some discipline when they returned to the table, then I think those of us at the surrounding tables would have understood, but there was next to no discipline towards the children running around the restaurant. I found it very disrespectful to the other diners.

So, my point, through that story, is please don't let your kids run around and misbehave in restaurants (and in public in general). I get it, I do. We have two little kids, and it's a treat to be able to go out and eat in a restaurant. However, if they are cranky, tired, and/or in a "mood" then we don't go out. We don't feel it's fair to the other diners in the restaurant.

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