Parents slammed as they allow 4-year-old run around a restaurant.
“It’s hard for a 4-year-old to sit still”
A parent has taken to the internet to ask if they were in the wrong after their 4-year-old was disciplined by a waitress.
The parent posted to Slate: "My wife and I and our 4-year-old son were out to dinner last week. It was a medium-nice restaurant, not fast food, but not super fancy either. My son is a normal, active little boy, and it’s hard for him to sit through a whole dinner, so we let him explore the restaurant a little," the letter started.
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"...He did get underfoot when she was carrying a tray, and she spoke to him pretty sharply to go back to our table and sit down. I felt it was completely uncalled for, and she should have come and spoken to us personally instead of disciplining someone else’s child," the letter continued.
“Yeah, this is your fault. It’s hugely your fault. Of course it’s hard for a 4-year-old to sit still, which is why people usually stick to fast-dining establishments while working on restaurant manners. It’s why one parent usually responds to a fidgety kid who wants to “explore” by taking him outside the restaurant, where he can get his wiggles out while not taking laps around servers precariously carrying trays of (often extremely hot) food and drink.”, writes Nicole Cliffe, author from Slate.
“A kid “exploring” a restaurant is not a thing. When you did intervene, it wasn’t to get him back in his seat. It was just to instruct him to “stop running.” You weren’t parenting, so a server did it for you. She was right. You were wrong.
Your son is not ready to eat at a “medium-nice” restaurant again until he is capable of behaving a little better. You can practice at home. You can practice at McDonald’s. You can try a real restaurant again with the understanding that one of you may need to take him out when he starts getting the urge to run an obstacle course,” she added.
Well she does have a point, Maccas is perfect for a 4-year-old.
Just saying..
Since the online story posted, followers have not been supportive of the parents at all. Credit: Twitter
My children are aged 3 and 5, I would never dream of taking them to a restaurant, they are both funny, full of life and love to explore.
If on the odd chance I did get the opportunity to put on a nice dress and head out to dinner at a place that actually had cutlery I would leave the kids at home and enjoy my night!
Michelle Connolly has worked as a photo director, social media manager and photo editor at some of Australia's biggest media companies, including New Idea. She is now editor of Practical Parenting and loving mum-of-two.
