Spare The Rod

I was just reading an article about a restaurant in Carolina Beach that no longer tolerates screaming kids inside the restaurant. Obviously it's a bit controversial, at least because they are making their policy public. But I wanted to see what everyone else though.

As far as I'm concerned, I have no problem with it at all. I understand that kids will be kids, but if your kid is having a really bad day, then I don't see why everyone else in the restaurant has to have a crappy meal because of it. It's one thing to when a newborn is fussy, because they don't know any better. But I think it's completely reasonable to expect parents to deal with screaming kids outside, or possibly take them home.

I'm absolutely amazed what kids are allowed to get away with nowadays. Maybe it's because you can't smack a kid anymore, but kids seem to be given free reign whenever I'm out in public. I was at a coffee shop last month and some kid was literally running around in circles like a gymnasium and knocking stuff off of tables while the parents were laughing like it's funny. That same kid started banging on my laptop monitor, trying to see what I would do. At the doctor's office a few weeks ago another kid was treating the whole place like a jungle gym, and eventually ended up pulling the window blinds right off the wall. The kid's mother sat and did nothing while this was going on.

When I grew up, behaviour like that wasn't tolerated. Sure, smacking a kid on the bum was allowed back then, and I knew lots of kids who would get the belt from time to time. Nowadays that's child abuse, but it sure stopped a lot of kids from being mischievous and unruly in my day. Most kids that got the belt for doing something bad never ever did it again. I'm not advocating that parents should be hitting their kids, because I don't think they should, but I think parents need to take some responsibility for the behaviours of their children, especially in public. I also think other patrons need to be understanding when someone's kids are having a bad day. But when it hits a point where everyone in a paid, public establishment is impacted, then I personally think it's time to take your kid somewhere else and sort the problem out.

Just my two cents. Feel free to chime in.