Restaurant in Chicago asking children to behave

[Lil Red]

i saw this on the Today show this morning,[url="http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3621486"]here[/url] is a link

November 9, 2005 - A classic case of the haves and have-nots is playing out in restaurants in Chicago and across the country over the behavior of children. People without children are asking parents to control their kids. One North Side restaurant owner has posted a sign asking families to keep it down while chowing down.

What's happening at the A Taste of Heaven restaurant in Andersonville seems to be touching off a great debate nationwide. Here's the question: Are children these days out of control? The owner of the restaurant thinks far too many of them are, and he blames their parents.

A Taste of Heaven is a tiny restaurant with a little sign on the front door that says "Children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices." But it is causing a big controversy. Dozens of mothers are now boycotting the place, the same mothers the owner says don't place limits on their children.

"Her kids are using the poles on the walls to climb the walls like Batman, and I'm not exaggerating," said Dan McCauley, restaurant owner.

He asked that woman to never come back.

Kim Cavitt says she was offended when she was told her 2-year-old daughter should quiet down or they could leave.

"My response was, then we're leaving," Cavitt said.

Kim says her daughter is welcomed in many other Andersonville establishments, like the Swedish bakery, which gives out free cookies to kids, or Starbucks.

"And the way he handled it is extremely offensive. If you don't want children, great, that's great. Put a sign up that says no children allowed, not a benign thing where you are subjectively deciding what you consider to be positive behavior," said Cavitt.

But the little sign has touched a raw nerve. The New York Times called it Wednesday a culture clash between the childless and the child-centered.

Is it a sense of entitlement?

"It's a sense of my money is green and I get to have what I want," said McCauley.

"I am not sure whey people are upset the restaurant doesn't want their kids to act like a brat," said Lara Osborne, restaurant patron.

"That is really taking a stand for something," said Patrick Tully, restaurant patron.

A Taste of Heaven is not alone in doing this. Another restaurant, Toast, in Lincoln Park, has a note on the menu asking people there to use their inside voices. Many other restaurants across the nation are doing similar things.

One thing is for certain, with or without those boycotting mothers, A Taste of Heaven, with all of this attention, is going to be selling a lot more scones.

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so what do you guys think? is it fair for a restaurant to ask parents to make sure their children behave in a restaurant? sometimes, in a restaurant, i see parents letting their children be total brats and it does disrupt a person's dining experience. but i dunno

[Sojourner]

It's fair (coming from a woman with no children, but still)

[Melchizedek]

A private establishment has that right. If you don't want to abide by their rules, don't go there.

[avemaria40]

I can understand why they're doing this but kids are going to be kids and ppl have to respect that 2 year olds are going to act up, whether their told to behave or not. And if ppl start saying, well kids shouldn't be allowed in restaurants, then there will be a lot of angry parents, ready to sue and that won't be pretty.

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

Kids will be kids, but if the kids are really annoying to other customers and more of a distraction he can do whatever measures he sees fit to take. I've noticed that a lot of parents let their kids do whatever they want and make no attempt to control them. This is especially true during Mass. And it's not an age thing. I've seen familes with several young kids stay very quiet (other than the occasional baby crying) and I've seen families where the kids are crawling all over the pews and making noise. I've seen the same thing in restaurants.

[photosynthesis]

I think this is because a lot of parents just don't discipline their children.

[cmotherofpirl]

Manners do not come naturally, and of course the parents need to set an example from the beginning.
Children must be taught to behave in public. If they can't sit and eat in public you leave them at home.
My FLP [favorite little person] has been saying "pease and tank u and scusee" since he was 18 months old. If he misbehaves he knows he will immediately be taken home, and since he loves to go byebye : he is very good in public. If he is restless while waiting for supper, the parental unit has veggies etc in his bag.

[Guest T-Bone]

If you don't want to make your kids behave, take them to Micky D's. If your children act like human beings, they should be (and are) welcomed in almost any restaruant....

[Sojourner]

I agree with the discipline thing. I'm much more bothered in restaurants by misbehaving children than I am in church. Church is a "have to be there" situation. Restaurants are a privilege.

[Dave]

I think too many parents have forgotten the expression "Children should be seen and not heard." Most parents should be able to bring home that point by spanking their kids when they need it. Trouble is, too many of them have this idea that spanking is child abuse or against the law or something!

[dUSt]

Good for the dude who hates the kids. If the parents can't discipline their little brats then someone has to.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

This article seems a little polar. People without kids tend to think that normal children are horrible little brats...and I think those people are spoiled brats for thinking that a little noise from kids is something to be hated.

However, if parents know that their kids cause a disturbance, they should avoid the situation and discipline their kids.

In the meantime, the other side needs to lighten up...and have a few kids of their own so they can learn what a joy children are with their "irrepressible sense of celebration" (Pope John Paul the Great).

[Paphnutius]

[quote name='dUSt' date='Nov 10 2005, 05:39 PM']Good for the dude who hates the kids. If the parents can't discipline their little brats then someone has to.
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Hear hear! If parents are unwilling to act as such, someone has to play the role. The raising of kids is too important to leave to some.

[jasJis]

Good for the restaraunt! I have kids. I have kids that have misbehaved in restaraunts. I myself have had to take them outside and let my food go cold. It's about manners. We're not talking about behavior in McDonalds here. I'm not rich. If I'm in a nice place, it's for a special occaision, I don't want my evening ruined by parents who let their kids act inappropriately. Nor will I allow my kids to ruin somebody else's special evening out.

Kids are kids, not savages. Kids can learn manners, and it's only polite to remove a child from a situation if they cannot behave appropriately. Letting a child disturb others and behave as they would in a playground is not doing the child any favors. The intent is for parents who have rotten kids to not patronize the restaraunt. It's bass-ackwards to say they are 'boycotting' the restaraunt.

[socalscout]

You cannot, successfully, tell a 2 year old to be quiet. Now if the problem is with older children then I agree with the restaurant.

I do not tolerate my 5 year old to disrupt others or play in a restaurant but I cannot keep my 2 year old quiet for long periods of time.

It has to go both ways or just don't eat there.