When I saw this article, I must confess I had mixed emotions. Being the mother of four children, I can relate to the seemingly discriminatory ideals associated with such a policy. On the other hand, I also was recently distracted by a screaming toddler at a neighboring table when reuniting with some old friends. It wasn’t that the child screamed that was the problem, it was that the child was allowed to continue to scream that put a damper on the last 20 to 30 minutes of our dinner. Luckily the family with the screaming child didn’t arrive until we were having dessert.
The question is: What is a restaurant to do when such a situation arises?
When my children were under 6, no one had to tell me when my child was being disruptive. It was disruptive to me, so the child received the “evil eye” the “mommy means business look.” Typically that would solve the problem. However, admittedly that didn’t always work, especially when they were younger. In those cases, either my husband or I would take the child away from the dinner table and would be dealt with appropriately. It takes conditioning for the “look” to work. Webster’s defines conditioning as: a simple form of learning involving the formation, strengthening, or weakening of an association between a stimulus and a response. Simple, yes. Easy, no. I relate to the fatigue associated with parenting, it is an exhausting endeavor. Early in our marriage, when we were just starting our family so dear friends said the best child raising book they ever read was “How to train your dog.” Yes, you read that right. The basic principles are the same. Be consistent. Giving in is rewarding bad behavior. Stick with it, even when you’re tired. All of which falls under “be consistent.”
So what is a restaurant to do when parents fail to parent? There are no easy answers. I think banning families is the wrong way to go. Maybe a statement similar to a movie theater about “screaming children will be asked to leave” may be enough of a deterrent.
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