Parents, what's your line for behavior in a food court?

[Wishing on a star]

The kid in the McD thread, poked a womans purse, tapped on a bench and asked the lady what her name was, hardly the same as running around screaming and throwing food.

Anyway, the people who allow their children to run around, scream and throw food are probably not discriminating when it comes to where its allowed, I'm guessing they allow it everywhere so it wouldn't matter if they were in a mall food court or Tavern On The Green.

We continue to agree to disagree....
First, I think it is obvious that 'tapping' and 'touching' were very understated descriptions used by the parent.
And, secondly, NOBODY touches my purse. Period. End of story.

Nobody has the right to continue to expect to engage me in extraneous conversation either... There is one man in our small town... We call him "The Town Talker". He hangs out at all the lunch restaurants. We have managed to get him to understand that we are there to eat our lunch (finally had to be almost rude ) So, now we just get a smile, how are you doing, how's. the weather, etc.... But, man do we ever feel sorry for any other patron that haplessly ends up sitting up next to him...

How was that lady to know where or when that precious 'inquisitive' little snowflake were to stop? One tiny split second and that young child could have actually grabbed the purse and began to go thru it looking for gum or candy...

The fact is that, IMHO, the parent did not make any effort to have their child maintain appropriate boundaries. If the parent had switched seats with the child, stated, "Let's not bother this lady right now" and taken care of the situation, then that poor woman would not have had to say anything to the child at all...

Instead, she didn't really take action, and then whined that some mean old lady said something to her snowflake.

When my son was young, you can bet we made certain, every single time, to choose a seat where he was on the 'inside' where he could not be annoying anyone sitting next to him. And, if my husband and I were both there, my son was actually between the two of us.

The phrase "butt on the seat" was our mantra. And, we meant it.

I, honestly, can not remember one single time where my son did anything remotely like this to annoy another patron.

Again, I don't care if it is McDonald's or LeCellier.... There are boundaries, and touching somebodies purse, along with tapping/banging/hitting/whatever, and incessant inquiry, are indeed, crossing boundaries.

 

[Wishing on a star]

But I kind of disagree that the behaviour expected from your children would be exactly the same at a McD's or at a 4 star restaurant. We eat out a lot and that's just not the case for us. If we're in a place that puts your food on a tray or has a TV on the wall, well.... we don't raise our eyebrows too much if we see a bit of moving around from our DD in those places.

I see what you are saying!!!
However, I think it all depends on your description of 'moving around'.
If it is enough to remotely have the chance of annoying others... then, that is the boundary.

I am not sure about where you live, but where we live, it is not just kids in the fast food restaurants. As a matter of fact, unless it is a busy Saturday Afternoon, the huge percentage of patrons are adults, even older adults.

I really hate it when people think that just because 'kids are kids' that they have a right to take over.

And, remember, I am a parent!

 

[busyshrew]

No no, Wishing, you and I are definitely on the same page.

I am definitely on the strict end of the spectrum when it comes to table manners. (Babysitting two unruly, unmannered nephews made that a high priority with my own DD ).

My definition of acceptable in a family-oriented place is : squirming on the seat is okay, getting up to go see the fishtank is okay, moving silverware and doing your crayon stuff is fine. DD will often get up from her seat to give her father a hug or to come whisper in my ear. We tolerate a louder volume of voice (sometimes when there are TVs blaring, this isn't even an option). When DD was younger she used to stack those little creamer-cups into pyramids and play with unopened sugar packets (I know, some of you will NOT like that, but really folks, sometimes you have to pick your battles).

My point is that we ARE more lenient in paper-napkin places vs. cloth-napkin places, and we expect others' tolerance for our child's rambunctiousness should be higher too. But doesn't that make sense? When going out somewhere fancy, DH and I dress up, DD gets to put on a pretty dress. Our speaking voices are quieter. There are real flowers and things she CANNOT TOUCH on the table. We expect her to try a bit harder and sit up a bit straighter because it's a formal meal. And I am more sympathetic to complaints about other children when the restaurant in question is a finer-dining establishment. When you're at a mall food court, you can pick up your tray and move away or finish up fast and go; when you're in a fine sit-down, once that order is in, you're stuck and there's nooooo escape.......

But I am ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT IN AGREEMENT that no way my child should ever be willfully disrupting another patron's dinner experience. That is just....

 

[Wishing on a star]

Then, I think we may have just come to a consensus to answer the question in the title - acceptable behavior in a food court!!

 

[disneycruising]

A meeting in the restroom stall for a swift swat on the behind is what my child would have gotten. I have only had to do it once and now they know not to behave that way or they will get a meeting in the ladies room.

Me too!

When my oldest 2 were little...I looked my children in the eye and ask them if they would like to visit the bathroom. This was code for a lecture and a spanking if needed. If that wasn't enough to stop the behavior...we packed up and left. By the time my DS#3 came along, I never had to take him to the bathroom. He just understood what was expected of him. My youngest DD#4 was the same way. When she was about 5, she did something out in public that I didn't aprove of...I looked her in the eye and said "do we need to visit the bathroom"..she looked me in the eye and ask why? Very funny.

 

[disneycruising]

A meeting in the restroom stall for a swift swat on the behind is what my child would have gotten. I have only had to do it once and now they know not to behave that way or they will get a meeting in the ladies room.

Me too!

When my oldest 2 were little...I looked my children in the eye and ask them if they would like to visit the bathroom. This was code for a lecture and a spanking if needed. If that wasn't enough to stop the behavior...we packed up and left. By the time my DS#3 came along, I never had to take him to the bathroom. He just understood what was expected of him. My youngest DD#4 was the same way. When she was about 5, she did something out in public that I didn't aprove of...I looked her in the eye and said "do we need to visit the bathroom"..she looked me in the eye and ask why? Very funny.