I love kids. I really do. But there’s a huge difference between a kid being a little fussy at dinner and a child screaming like they’re being dragged into the pits of hell during your entire meal.
Let’s get into it.
Should Lubbock restaurants be allowed to ask families with screaming kids to leave?
Photo by Marco Aurélio Conde on Unsplashboy opening his mouth
I understand that parenting is absolutely, downright exhausting. Kids have total meltdowns for a number of reasons. Babies cry. It’s what they do. Sometimes, there is NOTHING you can do about it.
I’m not a parent, but I’ve got 9 siblings, and I can 100% relate to standing in public with a child who is simply not having it. I’m also aware that there are kids with special needs that make it difficult or even impossible for them to stay quietly seated for the duration of a meal in a restaurant.
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Growing up in a house full of loud-ass children has given me a special set of skills: I can ignore the heck out of noise and disruption. So can my mom, which is probably why we all turned into little attention-seeking monsters, but that’s a topic for another day…
The thing is, everyone else in the restaurant has paid to be there too.
Unfortunately, a lot of people in this world lack the patience and understanding for stuff like this.
They complain to restaurant staff. They leave mean Yelp reviews and Facebook comments.
Some people never return to a restaurant after one bad experience.
Believe it or not, several restaurants out there have already decided they’ve had quite enough.
In 2023, Nettie’s House of Spaghetti in New Jersey decided to ban children under the age of 10 due to messes, excessive noise, and kids running around the restaurant all willy-nilly.
In California, Old Fisherman’s Grotto also has a policy in its dining room against disruptive kids, but it isn’t an all-out ban.
I mean, I get it.
If you’re spending your hard-earned money on a nice dinner with family and friends, you’d probably prefer not to be seated near a toddler who just learned the word “NO.”
Sometimes, the real problem isn’t even the child. Sadly, there are parents out there who totally ignore their children’s behavior in public. Often, the real problem is the parent or guardian in charge, but that isn’t really for you to decide. You don’t know them. You have no idea how their day has been or what’s going on in their life.
So, Lubbock, what do you think?
Should more places ban kids or ask families to leave if things get too loud and crazy?
Or is screaming and crying just part of eating in public?
I’d love to hear from you! Email me at Chrissy.Covington@townsquaremedia.com or drop a comment on my Facebook page here.
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