Do Other Peoples Children Annoy You When Dining Out In A Restaurant?

Hi There, I always like to bring my kids out with me to meals and am happy to say they are very well behaved. (of course they are older now...but they were when they were young too). I never get annoyed at the children if they are misbehaving in the restaurant, but I do get annoyed with their parents. Kids will be kids, it is the parents job to teach them how to behave..not let them run wild. cheers,

We used to go out for dinner often with our older son. He was well behaved and could be occupied with a colouring book or a hand puzzle and I don't think anyone was ever disturbed when he was around. But my younger one can be annoying especially if he isn't hungry. So, we don't go out often. I don't like my kids running around and disturbing other people. We have gone out for lunch with my younger one and he did sit in his high chair and feed himself. The people at the next table...on their way out came over and complimented us. We did have a little laugh though because that was the first time he ever sat quietly and ate on his own (he was 15 months then). When the younger one is running around, hubby and I take turns to eat while the other takes him outside. We can't really enjoy our meal then....but atleast the others at the restaurant can. I don't really mind kids moving around in a restaurant....but the kids who run around and under tables are a pain.

We always took our kids out but if our kids acted up we'd leave. I'm not going to spoil someone else's meal & hope they'll show me the same respect.

I used to take my kids out to the fanciest restaurant once a year. I would get them all dressed up and they got to pick whatever they wanted from the menu. There are times when other gave me nasty looks but they were for the most part very well behaved. Other times I just took them to fast food or pizza. I think kids deserve to be in nice restaurants as much as any adult. They also deserve the chance to use their good manners and when they eat out that is a good time to teach them. AS far as my personal opinion about kids in restaurants...honestly....even if they do act up a bit it doesn't bother me. And if the parents let me....I wave at the child or whatever to keep them busy...Most of the time when they really act up it's because they are hungry and impatient waiting for the food to be served.

When your children run riot at home when there are guests you should correct them. Otherwise once they get into that habit they will continue behaving the same way when they are in public places also. Once they are taught that they have to behave themselves in front of outsiders they will learn to sit quite in public places.

oh my word yes. especially if they do nothing about it. it just ruins the atmosphere and my dinner.

I agree with you. I also take my children out to eat if I can. They are extremely well behaved and are often complemented on. They like to run about a bit and in places where this is acceptable, that is ok but if it isn't ok then I make sure they don't do it. They don't bother anyone. I think it is unfortunate to see other people's kids about misbehaving. It gives a bad impression to everyone and it does spoil the enjoyment. My kids will be allowed to roam free in a safe part of wherever we are, providing they are not bothering anybody, until we have a meal when they sit down until we have finished. We go in the afternoon, not for the reasons you said but partly because evening would be too late for them and lunchtime menus are usually cheaper! Kids do get bored easily. Mine are 8 and almost 3. But boredom is no excuse for letting them run riot. I've been in some places where I'm sure people take their kids just to let them run off and don't think they need to take care of them. It is a shame when other people's kids are annoying but it makes me even more proud of my own!

I know that young kids will be kids but there is the difference between children acting like children and children acting like spoiled brats because their parents don't tell them no or to settle down. We ate at a chinese restaurant a few weeks ago where these two little boys did not but jump up and down on the seats, yell and scream, constantly get out of the booth to run up and down the isles. Their parents only told them to sit down or be quiet once or twice and of course the kids never listened because it was never reinforced. It was terrible. When kids go out, they should at least be relatively behaved for the short time they are there.

When I was a child and we dined in a restaurant, there was no choice for my sister and I. We had better behave or there would be no more chances to dine out. So we behaved. Now I understand children are children, they aren't little adults. So I can overlook a lot of things. But when children (not babies) scream and yell during my meal, I have a problem with that. And when they actually come over to my table I have a wee bit of a problem with that, lol. That has happened more times than you would think. I just think maybe sometimes the parents are so tired they give up and let the kids go wherever. Which makes me feel kind of bad for the parents.

i agree. children easily get bored but they shouldn't be allowed to run around inside a restaurant unless it is a restaurant for kids. i mean, there are fast food chain restaurants with small playground inside just for kids and since the restaurant caters for the children's taste, no adult can complain if there are kids running around. the last time i ate in a fastfood restaurant, with no playground which means the kids are not allowed to do anything playful, there was a kid shouting so loudly acting like a spoiled brat. i couldn't contain myself. i gave the kid a warning look, my eyes frighteningly wide, with matching "shhhhhhhh!" the kid stopped from shouting.

I have autism, and high pitched, loud noises cause me pain that can lead to severe migraine headaches. Large milling crowds, or small milling persons at high volume and speed can cause my autism to act up, so I fear I must answer yes, unruly children can make the inside of my skull a misery. * What is worse, some parents do not maintain order. They simply tune out the noise from their children because they are able to and or are used to the volume level. When requested by a stranger to lower the volume, they become defensively angry. Then all parents note the fact that children are welcome in fewer in fewer places. * Why do I think this is happening? * Parenting is a skill set. Like other skill sets; cooking, short hand writing, car repair, it is something that must be learned. It is most often passed down from parent to child or by extended family. Today, with it's separation of families to the four winds, society is loosing several skill sets that were passed down by extended families in close vicinity. * The creation of children is not a skill set and requires no special ability. We now have unskilled parents with no extended family or very little with no time or skill to pass on. Hence a problem.

yes i do bring my kids to eat outside and my son will behave well... its annoying that theres alot of kids running around the restaurant and parents doesnt care for it.,.

Other people's children annoy me when I am dining out some of the time. If they are well behaved and just eating and talking to people on their table then fair enough it doesn't bother me. But when they start running riot or playing loudly with their toys that emit really loud annoying music it drives me insane. I went out for Easter Sunday and there was this boy clanging two toy trucks together for the best part of the meal.

children never annoy me anywhere if they are taught how to act no matter where they are. i'm afraid nowadays they are not taught how to behave.

I agree that this can be very bothersome and it's one of the reasons I don't like to go out dining. At least I can have peace and quiet in my own home, I won't pay triple the amount it will cost me when I prepare it myself when there are children running around like headless chickens. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, I just don't get why parents would let their children out on the loose like that. There are two options in my opinion: 1) Teach your child some manners 2) Leave them with a babysitter or other caregiver I've never been to a restaurant as a kid even though I was able to sit still for a long time and was very well behaved; my parents just never went out to eat. When we were over at other peoples places or perhaps for a lunch or dinner in an amusementpark I remember I was allways very neat and tidy while other kids where running around and I was thinking to myself: 'God, why are they doing this? That's so rude to the other people'.... Perhaps I grew up a little to fast .

I am also annoyed with that behavior, I don't understand why some parents will allow their kids to roam around the place and destruct other customers, I guess it is ok to bring them for exposure and socialization but, at the same time, parents will teach them too the do's and dont's inside the restaurant! But, most of the parents of these kids are having fun talking and maybe they just feel very at home!LOL!

OOh this is a huge bug bear of mine if eating out in the evening, I like to be able to hear the conversation I'm having with my dining partner. If I'm in a group I expect to be able to hear what people 2 or 3 seats away are saying. I don't expect to hear kids screams drowning out the restaurant music and our conversation too. I don't have kids of my own so I can't comment on taking kids out for a meal but I've seen some really unruly kids in restaurants and parents just letting them run riot running around and charging into the back of your chair whilst you're eating and making you spill food on yourself and being told I'm a killjoy when I told the mother to try to keep the child at the table with her. When I was in India once, a couple my parents knew took my brother and me out to dinner with their 5 year old daughter who was very cute but the brat from hell. We went to an exclusive restaurant and were seated on the first floor which was the executive lounge and their daughter spent the entire meal running around to the other tables and picking up the spoons, licking them and putting them back down again. I was horrified and said to the couple "erm your daughter's licking the cutlery!" They just smiled and said "yes, it's sweet isn't it?" hahaha! I was speechless!

In a restaraunt I would expect the parent to teach the child - in a store - how boring to be shopping all day! They're likely tired and cranky. This is just not far when parents drag kids out to the mall to go shopping half the day or all day. A young child shouldn't be expected to endure this. My baby is between one and two years and since he either sits in the seat with us or in a high chairhe doesn't have much opportuntity to run wild - I think as bold as he is he wouldn't want to stray to far from mommy. He does stare at other kids fascinated. Sometimes they come up to him which is fine with me. They stare at each other and sometimes slightly older kids will want to touch his hands and feet and such. One little boy was trying to teach him to hit knuckles together in some kind of cute greeting.

Hi Ellie-it doesn't bother me about children when they play up as I always think that it is the parents responsibility to keep them in check-unless they start hassling me then I will say something-fortunatley though have never come had this situation happen to me,and to be honest I can't remember the last time I went out for a meal!! hugs littleowl

No, not really. So far, I haven't encountere a kid who really misbehave in front of others in which i will get really distractred or annoyed so I really don't know the feeling but surely, I will feel somewhat irritated if there is someone who really causing noise all over the place.. lolz.