Banning children from restaurants?

This is and should always have been a Parenting board post tbh, Etho_, you're a mod, you should know that!

Society seems to think it is no longer appropriate to point out other people's errors/mistakes/misdeeds/inability to control children. We've all experienced the cinema/restaurant/wherever situation where some sh1t kids are wrecking heads whilst Mammy and Daddy who have become oblivious to the whole thing cause they've been dealing with it (or more accurately, not dealing with it) for months/years. You should have said something yourself instead of waiting till you could bitch about it on the internet.

I will always try to find the parents and make a show of them. As a service industry manager I have spoken softly in the ears of people and as a customer I have screamed in the face of people and threatened severe physical damage and I usually get the desired result by picking my words carefully .

As a manager, you explain that (for example) after 9pm it is illegal for children to be in a licenced premesis and this can include not just a hotel bar, but their reception/lobby too depending on their licence. I tell them they have 5 minutes to bring the children to bed or I call the guards. I have gotten a lot of agro from some parents about me telling them their children can not run around my hotel unsupervised. I supsequently told them to go to their room and pack their bags which makes for a sudden turn around. One of them went over my head to the Duty Manager who then showed them the complaints from other guests who were demanding they not be charged for X, Y and Z because of the unruly children that ruined their whatever. He then said that he was going to pass on all these charges to the people at fault, "who happen to be you and your children. So do you want to settle 5 people's bills or just your own?" They left there and then complaining about service and all that as someone mentioned above much to the delight of everyone else. All the other complaints were happy as word had spread through the hotel very quickly that we had actually thrown the bastards out. People like seeing BIG results when they have a complaint. The outcome? 1 possible complaint and 5 or 6 very satisfied customers who admired the way we handled it.

I have had the guards call a woman's house who's children refused to stop talking during a film. I asked nicely to be quiet and stepped up the aggression each subsequent occasion. by the 5th time I stood up, told her *she* was leaving and got the manager. There was a big scene and they eventually left. Later, as I was leaving the cinema having successfully enjoyed the rest of the film, I saw them pulling off in their car and one of the afore mentioned darlings decided to give me the finger. I rang the Gardaí straight away, called out the licence plate and they made a visit which I hope frightened the sh1te outta this wonderful mother - certainly the garda I spoke with was on my side cause she was stunned by the story. This may seem a little harsh to most people, but the law won't allow me to do the right thing which would have been to whip the child and mother with a length of nylon rope until they pissed themselves (when I am president of the world, this will be the MINIMUM punishment). I'm forced to play by this society's rules which really sucks, but the police must follow up any genuine complaint received and really are not happy about having to call to anyone's house telling them their kids were reported for their behaviour whilst they were driving.

The problem lies in parental application of discipline and that's it. Banning kids from restaurants won't fix that, it's a FAR bigger problem than that. Kids seem to have lost respect for parents (gross generalisation here - don't snap!) and people in general seem to have lost respect for everyone else and so won't teach the brats what they're doing wrong. Gone are the days when if someone's kid was acting the maggot you'd give them a clip around the ear and send them on their way where their parents would give them the same and demand the child went back to apologise. This is a very big shame.

The businesses have to be brave and step in, this is very true. Too many don't/are afraid to. Ned's point about people getting onto the radio etc naming and shaming is unfortunately also highly important. We now live in a society where people think they are gods because they're paying for something. Some of you should see the way my colleagues and I get treated when someone else has done wrong. It's clearly our fault that your child won't behave. :rolleyes: I once had some parents say to me "well, you closed the pool to children at 7 - what else are they supposed to do?" I answered "madame, it's 11pm, they're supposed to be in their beds" which was met by a full blown nuclear assault by both mother and father and auntie - all of whom were swaying on their seats and slurring their words. 2 other guests chimed in on my behalf and before I knew it there was almost a brawl in the lounge! It was insanity. Eventually the crash of one of my lamps breaking ("I wonder who might have done that?" were my exact words when I heard it) and the subsequent tears ended the arguement. The additional €200 added to their bill for the new lamp caused them to cut short their trip - how unfortunate.

The point:
Speak up and take no sh1t from anyone in any circumstance! Never be afraid to get mad.