Children in cafés and restaurants

Every time I go in a café (or restaurant during the day), I seem to be plagued by the wailing/grizzling/screaming of toddlers whose parents do not seem remotely interested in them.

Typically, the parents will sit at the table chatting away and enjoying their meal/drink, while the bored toddler sits facing away from them in a buggy. The only strategy the parents seem to have to entertain them is to let them play with a mobile phone; the novelty of that wears off after a while and the grizzling resumes.

Older children are often to be seen glued to their iPads etc., and are generally quiet, but even so it seems a pity that they cannot be included in the sociability of the occasion.

What do you do with your kids in cafés? Do you think it's OK to keep them quiet through the whole meal with electronic games?

What do you do with your kids in cafés? Do you think it's OK to keep them quiet through the whole meal with electronic games?

no not really as the children are usually eating the same time as us

I take my 3 yr old to meet with my Mom in a cafe every week. We include her in the conversations we have or she will entertain herself by looking at the menu. Same cafe, same menu each week but she loves looking at it bless her

Sometimes toddlers crying is unavoidable, but it's not nice to see (or hear) babies crying and their parents persistently ignoring them and pretending they don't exist.

Every time I go in a café (or restaurant during the day), I seem to be plagued by the wailing/grizzling/screaming of toddlers whose parents do not seem remotely interested in them.

 

Typically, the parents will sit at the table chatting away and enjoying their meal/drink, while the bored toddler sits facing away from them in a buggy. The only strategy the parents seem to have to entertain them is to let them play with a mobile phone; the novelty of that wears off after a while and the grizzling resumes.

 

Older children are often to be seen glued to their iPads etc., and are generally quiet, but even so it seems a pity that they cannot be included in the sociability of the occasion.

 

What do you do with your kids in cafés? Do you think it's OK to keep them quiet through the whole meal with electronic games?

Someone posted on my Facebook today 2 pics. The first pics headline is "socialising in the 80s" with three young girls sat chatting and looking at each other. The second pics headline is "socialising in 2013" with 3 young girls all on their phones ,not looking at each other and no verbal interaction. Quite sad really.

Parents should do their best to keep their children content and free from distress. They should also consider the impact their children's behaviour can have on others. It's the least we should expect. Shoving digital screens in from of their faces is not a solution; it's a cop-out.

I take my 3 yr old to meet with my Mom in a cafe every week. We include her in the conversations we have or she will entertain herself by looking at the menu. Same cafe, same menu each week but she loves looking at it bless her

Thank you, that restores my faith somewhat!

Our kids are grown up now, but when small used to like sitting with us and being part of the conversation. We sometimes took toys, books or colouring stuff for them if we envisaged a long wait for the food. I suppose some would say that's the same as letting them play on electronic toys, but I don't think it was. Electronic screens are so all-absorbing (addictive, even), it's as though the kids are in a world of their own (much to their parents' apparent relief, sadly). At least when they were drawing, colouring, etc., they would be talking to you about it and could easily be distracted from it when the food came.

I do however remember having to avoid cafes for about a year when one of ours was about 2 and he went through a phase of trying to escape from his high chair and cause mayhem by running round the tables. It made eating out very stressful (for other cafe users as well as us!) so we didn't bother until he could be relied upon to stay at the table for the duration of the meal.

I also saw a mother in a restaurant tell a whining child very firmly that if he didn't be quiet they would be going straight home. He didn't stop, so she asked for the food they'd ordered to be put in a box, paid the bill and marched the kid out of the restaurant without further ado. I wish there were more like her.

Thank you, that restores my faith somewhat!

 

Our kids are grown up now, but when small used to like sitting with us and being part of the conversation. We sometimes took toys, books or colouring stuff for them if we envisaged a long wait for the food. I suppose some would say that's the same as letting them play on electronic toys, but I don't think it was. Electronic screens are so all-absorbing (addictive, even), it's as though the kids are in a world of their own (much to their parents' apparent relief, sadly). At least when they were drawing, colouring, etc., they would be talking to you about it and could easily be distracted from it when the food came.

 

I do however remember having to avoid cafes for about a year when one of ours was about 2 and he went through a phase of trying to escape from his high chair and cause mayhem by running round the tables. It made eating out very stressful (for other cafe users as well as us!) so we didn't bother until he could be relied upon to stay at the table for the duration of the meal.

 

I also saw a mother in a restaurant tell a whining child very firmly that if he didn't be quiet they would be going straight home. He didn't stop, so she asked for the food they'd ordered to be put in a box, paid the bill and marched the kid out of the restaurant without further ado. I wish there were more like her.

There was an article other day in some rag relating to this topic.

Some guy in a café complained to another diner (female) because she had got a potty out and sat her little dear on it to take a dump. The guy got a mouthful from said woman. She then bagged up the poo and put it on her table.

There was an article other day in some rag relating to this topic.

 

Some guy in a café complained to another diner (female) because she had got a potty out and sat her little dear on it to take a dump. The guy got a mouthful from said woman. She then bagged up the poo and put it on her table.

That's horrible. I'm amazed the cafe staff allowed it. How bloody antisocial can you get?!

That's horrible. I'm amazed the cafe staff allowed it. How bloody antisocial can you get?!

I think the stories focused on one particular café, which is frequented by rich stay at home mummies. So I guess the café owners put up with it so as not to lose their custom.