Do you watch your kids when you go out to dinner?

I let my son move around, and look around, but I don't let him get out of his chair or stare at anyone. Even though he isn't even 2 yet, he isn't allowed to be rude. He doesn't really understand that it is rude to stare at people yet. But we can distract him and keep him from staring at people. As parents that is our job. Yes, we want to enjoy our meal, but we don't want our child to make it hard for someone else to enjoy theirs. If we couldn't control our son while he was eating out, we wouldn't take him anymore.

Oh god no I dont let my kids run out of control thats so embarassing. My kids are well behaved so I guess Im lucky but I have seen parents that let their kids run around swearing and screaming and do totally nothing about it. If people like this don't even bother to teach their kids good manners and so they should'n't be allowed to have children because god knows what they will grow up like.

Yes of course I watch over my kids when we go out to dine, whether its at a restaurant or to somebody’s place. Its part of etiquette that we expect our children to learn from us. What you described was definitely outrageous, but I have seen many kids just running round the place, peeping into kitchens, standing behind chairs and pushing and the complacent parents just pass it on as child’s prank. They have been brought up without any manners and they are just passing on the same to their kids and most people like us are to well-mannered to protest publicly.

I watch my kids when we go out to eat. I don't want them to bother anyone. I live in the south and I can say that people here are really big on manners. I haven't had any problems with other people's children staring or bothering me or my family while we're eating. I know I don't tolerate that sort of behavior from my children.

Oh I make sure they sit with me and eat their meal. If they do get out of control, it is because the child has a lot of energy, but if I am not done eating, he knows that he is to wait until I am finished. If not, then he will be grounded and he knows it, but he also knows that I will provide a space for him to run off the energy he has when we leave, either a playground or something to wear him out..lol

That drives me nuts too! I wish some parents would keep a better eye on their children. If I go out to eat, I'd like to relax and have an enjoyable meal. I don't want to have children running around yelling, or coming up to the table and hanging over my chair. I've been to group dinners where kids will literaly be climbing on the table, and the parents don't do anything. I feel sorry for the servers that are carrying big heavy trays of food, and practically trip over kids that are running around the restaurant. And this is happening at nice, higher end restaurants - not your neighbourhood family restaurant. I really wish some people would handle their kids better in public.

I usually watch my son when we go out for dinner. He does tend to look at someone else at another table. And I quickly point out to him that it's not right. We've talked about it a couple of times. If I find that my son repeats the behaviour a couple of times in a row, I wait outside with him till my husband finishes his dinner and then not go out for dinner again till my son learns to behave (thank God, it's not reached that stage yet). Personally I don't mind if it's a very young child watching us for a few minutes or trying to talk to us till our food gets to our table. I've experienced that a few times and it's worked out good for the parents of the child (who got a breather) and me (my son was occupied with the child). But the parents have always made sure the kids don't disturb us when we have our food. And it's always been quiet fun...no running around the place. I'd never let my son run wild at a restaurant (whatever the age). I'd rather stay home than let that happen.

I have ALWAYS watched my children when I am in public, they were always made to be polite.It is a personal pet peeve of mine to go to a restaurant and I am a paying customer and some let their little "angels" run wild or go up to strangers tables and try to "be cute". It's not cute to me at all. I am a paying customer, while I love kids, don't get me wrong, but when me and my hubby go out to dinner, it is a special time and we like to share the time together, just us, not the entire restaurant and the little kids, just us for some alone time to relax and share conversation with ourselves. I agree with you 110%. This is a great discussion topic, needed to be said and I thank you for sharing it with us.

I can't stand when ppl let their kids run wild in places. It's like the parents have no control and don't really care that they don't. When my Niece and Nephew were little and we'd take them shopping we'd put them both in the cart and keep them there...no running around. I've never had a problem taking them out to eat or out shopping but then even when they were young they knew what was acceptable and what wasn't. **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

My children are now teenagers, so this sort of thing is no longer an issue for us. However, when they were smaller, they knew what the rules were, and they were expected to follow them. They were expected to stay in their seat, facing the proper direction,talking quietly with other family members, and displaying proper table manners. We expected them to behave that way at home, as well, so they had plenty of practice in what to do.