Reply #106: yes I know....

[marions ghost]

you see bad behavior a lot in restaurants. Not long ago I watched a family with 3 young kids completely tear up the table next to us...throwing food, running around the table, coming to our table several times to climb over the booths and play peekaboo with us, though we gave no signs of being interested in playing with them. They were in constant motion, never required to sit in their seats, and were old enough to be expected to do that at least part of the time. The parents were like zombies, completely passive.

The group left the table and floor a complete and total wasteland...the restaurant people were disgusted and making comments to each other about what pigs they were. I do have sympathy for the parents who are so clueless, but it's like sympathy for the brain-dead. I'm kind of amazed, more than anything, by the feral way some people live. OK, obnoxious behavior is not the worst thing in the world, but I worry about where these kids are heading. Maybe they are so bad all the time the parents have just given up. It's almost like some kids have been raised with absolutely no limits. What kind of adults will they be?

Now I'm SURE the parents here at DU do not let their kids do this extreme bad behavior in public. But they should acknowledge at least that it is a growing problem for others. Even though I am very good with kids, I associate family friendly restaurants with negative experiences now. Whether it has to be this way, whether those who it bothers must get out of the way and shut up...dunno. But it IS a growing problem.

These days I just tell the kids to buzz off myself if they really get next to me in a public place. Just quick and to the point, like brushing off gnats--I just say, "You! Stop that." (and they do) I certainly don't expect parents to do this anymore. So I feel I have a right to at least fend them off.
It's sad that people have so little respect for others anymore.