Tell me what you really think.
It bothers me how "public space" has rapidly morphed into "an extension of our living room."
I don't go to movies much any more just because of this kind of behavior. Sadly, if I want a quiet, cell-phone-free movie experience, I need to wait for the movie to come out on video, and rent it, and watch it in my own (quiet!) living room.
I've also been "treated" to bad behavior in restaurants. The most memorable example being at a moderately fancy restaurant at the end of a visit with my parents - we wanted to enjoy each others' company for one last dinner. But the jerk at the next table couldn't let that be; he was too busy calling travel agents, airlines, etc., and LOUDLY cussing them out using MANY f-bombs because, apparently, a flight he was on was late.
I don't see it getting better, either, short of there being either (a) legislation against the twerps or (b) a public uprising of people who are tired of public loudness, crudeness, undiscipline, etc. The problem with (b) is most of the people who would be in the uprising tend to be the meeker sorts who probably would be embarrassed to "call" a parent on the lack-of-control of their children, and prefer to suffer in silence...
I am so with you on this. As a former waiter and a current parent (4yo and 7yo) I say keep your kids in their seats and quiet. Period. No excuses. If I can do it, so can everybody else.
OMG -- at the beginning of this story, I thought the grandson was probably 3 - 4 years old (what with the climbing, etc.) -- not 13!!
I took my daughter out to an expensive restaurant not too long ago (paid for by the company I work for in honor of 25 years service with the company - trust me I would not pay this much out of MY pocket for one meal.) The bill for the two of us was $124 -- we had one drink each, steak and an appetizer! Anyway, there was a family there with two small girls. Although the girls were relatively well-behaved, they still were making noise, walking around,talking loudly -- in general not being adults which, of course, they are not -- and I don't expect them to be. I would expect that adults going out to eat at an adult restaurant would leave non-adults at home!!!
(Please feel free to correct my run-on sentences and poor punctuation. My brain isn't in an editing mode today!!!)
What sucks about this is, because of families like these, no one can take their (quiet well-behaved) children anywhere without getting looks.
Lady S has it right. Those of us that expect reasonable behavior from our kids get the eye rolls from others whenever we go out to eat...even if it's at a family style restaurant.
And most of the time the loud kids are loud because they are from a loud family where nobody respects anybody else. This lack of respect then carries over to how the kids behave in public, and eventually how they treat others (like the guy cussing out the travel agents on the phone).
I think all standards in our society have deteriorated..moral, behavioral, common decency, respect, etc. In an effort to "accept" the differences in others, we refuse to "expect" people to act with some level of respect and decency while in public and toward others.
Tazers and cell phone blockers. Thats what we need to deal with such rude, crude and obnoxious people.
There were several instances when I missed most of a meal either being outside of a restaurant or sitting in the car with a misbehaving son. I felt it was my duty to let my son(s) know that they could not misbehave or act up in public and have no consequences. Such work has paid off; we have two bright, generally well behaved sons and perodically, people have complimented us on their behavior in restaurants, etc. BUT, it takes work and effort on part of the parents.....something too many families do not seem to want to do.
Ah, the start of the new school year. Don't worry: that family will surely wind up in somebody's classroom this year. It's individualism run amok, and "my rights" always take precedence over everyone else's.
I'm in the mood for bringing back an appropriate sense of shame. How about you?
When my children were small, we took them out to eat often, so they could get used to having to act nice in public. If they acted up, one of us took them outside until they decided to be good. I try not to let it bother me too much, but mr. kenju hates it if a child even cries a little in a restaurant or in church. But to me, the adults are far more disconcerting than the children, most of the time. They act as if their little darlings are soooo cute that no one could be aggravated by them. Sheeesh!
All three of my children, including the 3 year old, know to stay in their seats when eating, and to talk at a normal volume. I have had people comment, while talking about general child difficulties, how lucky I was to have such easy children, since my son is generally laid back. Apparently boys are the only ones to get into trouble?? I often remind these people that it is my 10 year old daughter who has a history of 3 broken bones and 5 stitches.
But then there are the people who go too far the other way. When my littlest was just 9 months old, I took her grocery shopping with me. It was very busy, there were people in front and behind us in line. She sat in her seat, did not cry or fuss or scream, but she was having a very lively conversation with herself, using her hands as characters for whatever story she was telling. Of course, no one could understand her. Someone in line behind me made the comment, "That's what pacifiers were made for." I looked back, but there were several people there, and no one would own up to the comment.
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