would this have annoyed you?

[freakylick]

It's threads like these that remind me why I don't go to these types of restaurants. I would rather stay at home and and

 

[Nancyg56]

I do not have a problem with someone else's kids or group of kids sitting by themselves at a table if they behave. But whether they behave or not, I do not want to sit at the table with them. This is why people are talking about leaving, not because they think kids shouldn't sit alone, but because they don't want to be the only adults sitting with them. That's the parents' job. And if I were to walk out based on this (and I might) I would first ask if I could be moved. If the server/manager said no, then I'd leave - BEFORE ordering. That is not stealing. Nor is it about having to sit next to a child, it's sitting with a group of just kids. You're then the de facto adult - even though they are not your kids.

Exactly. I would not have minded if I was seated with the kids and I was with my family. I am not so sure I would be so complaisant if i was having a ladies weekend away and was seated with children while their adults were off at their own table. Not saying I have anything against kids, just that I may resent being the adult- sorry, while I know a 14 YO is capable of overseeing kids I would still feel like the adult- with someone elses children. While is is not prohibited I think it was rude.


Let me ask you this- if you left childen with a table of 4 men and they were not editing their conversation- who is at fault here? You for leaving them or the men for not worrying if their conversation was too adult for children? If you, the adult was there you have better control over the situation but in the example here- you are not in control. I belive that this is the differentce between placing four kids at their own table and placing them at a table where their table mates are not their peers. I do believe that while I would be careful of teh conversation it is not up to the others to censor their talk...............a responsible adult should have been there to oversee.

 

[Tink888]

I respectfully disagree with you. Since there were 8 adults, they should have split up to supervise their own children instead of allowing them to be seated with a teenager and a group of adult strangers. Sorry, I think that was just selfish on the part of the parents who wanted an adult meal experience and conversation, so they put their children with adults travelling without children? I honestly can't find a way to justify that.

How do you know selfishness was their sole motivation? 13 people couldn't sit at the table together. The parents grouped the kids with a responsible teenager at a nearby table.

For all any of us know, the parents may have requested the kids be at their own table without strangers and Disney wasn't able to accommodate them.

As a parent, I would not let my children sit with complete strangers unless I was sitting beside them no matter how well behaved they are. I would have so many concerns about this:

-They are adults and strangers, you never know what they would say or do. Just because my children are well behaved, it doesn't mean the strangers will be. I wouldn't want to subject my children to adults who act like fools.

Children can encounter adults acting like fools just as easily at a restaurant sitting with their parents. Individual tables aren't bubbles. 2 feet, 20 feet, if there was a problem, there was a teenager at the table who would've been able to get a parent.

-My children are very social, but I don't think they would like to eat a whole meal with strangers and not their own family.

The children were eating an entire meal with friends/family, just happened to be another group as the table.

-I would never be able to enjoy my own meal if I'm worried about them.

To each their own. Every parents has different levels of what they are and aren't comfortable with

-I would also like to make sure they eat properly without having to go back and forth to check on them.

As an adult, I would be very nervous about having other people's children eating beside me without their parents. And no matter how well behaved they are, they are still children. Parents still need to be there for guidance.

Why? Someone else's kids don't become my responsibility just because we're at a table together. I'm free to go about my dinner experience with my party.

As for the reasoning, It is more likely that the parents were being selfish and wanted to sit together and so "dumping" their children off on the waitstaff and strangers. But even if the children asked to eat by themselves, this should have been changed as soon as they are seated with strangers, 4 of the parents should have moved over and changed tables with the children.....leaving the OP's husband and party dining with 4 adults. It just makes sense to me. I can't comprehend why it wasn't done nor why the CM didn't insist that they do this before they sat them down.

A few have mentioned that it's a communal type restaurant and you would expect to sit with strangers, but common sense (and parental responsibility) dictates that you don't send children alone to sit with the strangers.

The kids could have been at the table first, thereby forcing them to eat with a bunch of boring old adults. They might have been just as annoyed.


I totally get not wanting to sit with a bunch of kids. If I'm out with my girlfriends for the night being at seated at a hibachi style restaurant with a bunch of kids would definitely put a damper on our night of food, drinks and conversation. Doesn't mean we still wouldn't have a good time though. And in that type of restaurant you've got to be prepared for where they put you. Again communal seating = crapshoot.

I am genuinely curious for those who would leave the restaurant if they couldn't be seated someplace else. Suppose you get to the table and find a single parent with five kids. Does seeing the parent there change your attitude toward that particular table? It's been my experience that in some cases, even having a parent next to dining kids doesn't guarantee well-behaved kids. Sometimes even being seated with other adults doesn't guarantee a good dining experience.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

Any restaurant, especially at Disney where you are paying a fair amount of money as a guest and they are a very well-established professional business, SHOULD have a requirement that minor children must have an adult present at their table to dine in a table-service restaurant.

AN ADULT, not another minor child who is capable of babysitting at a home where kids are playing and watching tv, etc.

Disney should establish and enforce this policy for the benefit of both the children as well as a courtesy to other guests.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

I am genuinely curious for those who would leave the restaurant if they couldn't be seated someplace else. Suppose you get to the table and find a single parent with five kids. Does seeing the parent there change your attitude toward that particular table? It's been my experience that in some cases, even having a parent next to dining kids doesn't guarantee well-behaved kids. Sometimes even being seated with other adults doesn't guarantee a good dining experience.

YES! Having a parent at the table would change my attitude towards the table. Sure it doesn't mean the children will be behaved, but it means that there is a responsible adult there supervising them.

Anyhow, I've read the entire thread and conclude that though the children seemed supervised and weren't misbehaving, it would have just been common courtesy for the adults to split so that the children were not seated alone (and likely seating w/ another set of grownups as we all know is bound to happen at these communal restaurants.)

Personally I would have asked for another table as soon as I realized there were no adults from thier party at the table and if there were no other tables, I would have found somewhere else to eat that night. Disney dining is too expensive and too rare to waste $$ and time on a bad dining experience.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

I would have been highly annoyed. I would have left.

Yeah, ditto.

 

[TDC Nala]

Does seeing the parent there change your attitude toward that particular table? It's been my experience that in some cases, even having a parent next to dining kids doesn't guarantee well-behaved kids.

Yes, because it is not a question of whether the children behave or not, nor does it have to do with a good dining experience. It's about ending up being the de facto "responsible" party at the table with someone else's kids. The kids could be quiet as mice but I don't want the responsibility of sitting with them.

 

[dvcdisney]

For all any of us know, the parents may have requested the kids be at their own table without strangers and Disney wasn't able to accommodate them.

If this was the case, then it would show that they were concerned about their children sitting with strangers and when they couldn't be accomodated, the parents would have immediately changed places so the children would not be sitting with strangers. But this is not what happened. The parents would have known this and just didn't care.

The kids could have been at the table first, thereby forcing them to eat with a bunch of boring old adults. They might have been just as annoyed.

That may well be true so it would make more sense to seat them with their own parents.

I still cannot fathom why any parent would allow their children to dine in a table with 4 adult strangers. I don't see any reason for this other than the fact that they selfishly wanted to have their table to themselves without being bothered by their children.

 

[jdisnut]

It would irk me a bit. Not enough to leave the restaurant altogether, but it seems a little odd the Cast Members would allow that arrangement. I'm also a little surprised the parents didn't mind seating their kids with four adult strangers!

If the children behaved, I probably wouldn't mind. If they started acting out, I may even have politely whispered something to the parents. They may not have even realized the entire situation at first.

 

[princesscharming]

I didn't read the whole thread so sorry, if his has been mentioend.

I would have been annoyed, regardless of how well behaved the children were. I mean what if these golfing buddies wanted to tell some dirty jokes or something? I understand in a restaurant like this, you might be seated with someone you wouldn't have selected. But honestly, if I was a group of 4, and the adults with these kids were a group of 5, I think the first thing I'd let the waiter know (after they told me there were no other tables) is that I want to switch tables with the adults who actually came with these children.

 

[Colleen27]

Any restaurant, especially at Disney where you are paying a fair amount of money as a guest and they are a very well-established professional business, SHOULD have a requirement that minor children must have an adult present at their table to dine in a table-service restaurant.

I don't think I'd go that far. I see nothing wrong with a group of older teens being on their own in the parks, and presumably they'd want to eat at some point. But it wouldn't hurt for Disney to set some rules along the lines of what is in effect for the rides, where kids under a certain age have to be with an adult.

 

[jdisnut]

Not to nitpick semantics, but what exactly qualifies as "unsupervised?" The parents were in the restaurant, right? It sounds like they were sitting at the next table, or at least a table not too far away. If the kids misbehaved, it wouldn't have been too difficult to track down the adults.

I appreciate the poster who mentioned that she would disapprove of the arrangement because it unfairly makes her responsible for those kids' wellbeing. I am not a parent myself and did not consider that aspect of this situation. It's a good point.

 

[TagsMissy]

sorry I had an appoitment yesterday so I didn't have a chance to get back to this thread. The ages of the kids were maybe a teenager 13-14 and the rest of the kids were around 5-8. The kids were not misbehaving. It was just an annoying situation.

This mix of children would not bother me; it is WDW after all and kids are expected. If the teenagers were there and minding the two younger ones and they were all well behaved I don't see a problem, sorry OP.

In our home (and yes I know it's in our home but we do this split at restaurants too)) we have a mix of adults at one table and kids in a separate room ranging in that age during family dinners and there are no issues; they behave, eat their meals and quite frankly love the fact they are NOT with their parents; they see it as a break and a chance to unwind. LOL

I know your hubby was on a guy's trip, having a guy's weekend but if they wanted a more adult situation eating within a disney park at a location where tables are shared wasn't a good choice.

 

[Nancyg56]

In our home (and yes I know it's in our home but we do this split at restaurants too)) we have a mix of adults at one table and kids in a separate room ranging in that age during family dinners and there are no issues; they behave, eat their meals and quite frankly love the fact they are NOT with their parents; they see it as a break and a chance to unwind. LOL

I know your hubby was on a guy's trip, having a guy's weekend but if they wanted a more adult situation eating within a disney park at a location where tables are shared wasn't a good choice.

I believe that the difference is that your children are not seated at a table with another party of adults. I know that parents can use their own judgement but i find it pretty discourteous to enjoy your own adult evening but subject a party of adults not related to you, not friends with you, who do not even know you (the in general "you") to your group of childrn.

I realize the Disney is a child friendly place and in fact kids really do not bother me but it would annoy me that this table full of adults was able to have their adult conversation, whatever that meant to them..............yet my group must ensure that our conversation was rated "G".

Now I am not a potty mouth, seldom engage in conversation that is not kid friendly. When we vacation with our DGD she is part of the party so I am used to including kids during dinner. This is not the point though. The point is the children;s parents made that choice for me while determining that they need not make it for themselves.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I think most people would agree a kid's table at home isn't a big deal. Although, as a kid, we all hated that we weren't allowed at the adult table. IMO, a kid's table at a restaurant, where other patrons experiences are affected, is very different.

If the parent doesn't want to dine with their kids for whatever reason, the teen could always order pizza or other room service & let the kids watch a movie in the room.

 

[kandb]

I have 3 young children and when I go to dinner with my adult friends, we always request a table away from any small children who can be annoying/crying etc. Bottom line is, when I'm out and spending good money to enjoy dinner, don't want to hear someone elses children. (well behaved children are another story). PS I have been in restaurants where people bring small children/babies and they sit and cry and act up and the parents continue to keep the kids there. Wake up parents, when your kids are annoying people around them, it's time to vacate the premisis. :rotfl2 Linda

 

[cymbaldiva]

I believe that the difference is that your children are not seated at a table with another party of adults. I know that parents can use their own judgement but i find it pretty discourteous to enjoy your own adult evening but subject a party of adults not related to you, not friends with you, who do not even know you (the in general "you") to your group of childrn.

I realize the Disney is a child friendly place and in fact kids really do not bother me but it would annoy me that this table full of adults was able to have their adult conversation, whatever that meant to them..............yet my group must ensure that our conversation was rated "G".

Now I am not a potty mouth, seldom engage in conversation that is not kid friendly. When we vacation with our DGD she is part of the party so I am used to including kids during dinner. This is not the point though. The point is the children;s parents made that choice for me while determining that they need not make it for themselves.

So well said - thank you!

 

[Colleen27]

I believe that the difference is that your children are not seated at a table with another party of adults. I know that parents can use their own judgement but i find it pretty discourteous to enjoy your own adult evening but subject a party of adults not related to you, not friends with you, who do not even know you (the in general "you") to your group of childrn.

I realize the Disney is a child friendly place and in fact kids really do not bother me but it would annoy me that this table full of adults was able to have their adult conversation, whatever that meant to them..............yet my group must ensure that our conversation was rated "G".

In a setting like Teppan Edo, though, no one can really be assured of being able to have adult conversation. That group of adults was as likely as not to be seated with a family with children making up the rest of their table, and had the group of unattended kids not filled the remainder of your table odds are pretty good that it'd have been parents with children seated there too. If adult conversation is something one wants out of a meal, a restaurant with communal seating isn't the place to book.

(Disclaimer - none of this should be construed as agreeing with what the parents did. I just think the "what if we didn't want to keep our conversations G-rated" angle doesn't fly.)

 

[Friendly Frog]

I think the op was lucky the children were well behaved. I have no problem with a child/teen only table if the children are mature in manner and the table is properly supervised.

Unfortunately,what I usually see happen is that the parents become so involved in their conversation that they "zone out" and have no idea what is really going on at the kids table. The parents think everything is OK just because they have not been disturbed. Just think, those two guys could have ended up with a kid who asked 20000000 questions during the dinner.

I still maintain that once the "kid table" changed to include adults, then 2 of the parents should have offered to switch seats with the men or, if available, the men should have been relocated to another table. Now days an unrelated adult has a hard time correcting the behaviour of a child or teen, nor should they have to... and they should not have to get up and go to another table to find the parent!



As a side note, on my last outing with a teen/kid table placed next to me, I witnessed the youngest child sucking on the salt shaker. The young teen took it away and put it back on the table, but it never occurred to her that the shaker needed to be washed before others used it. I reported it to the wait staff after the table left. Even though I was not at that table, my proximity placed me in the position of "Adult by Default".

If I am not having dinner with my children, why would I want to have dinner with yours?

 

[BriarRosie]

I do not have a problem with someone else's kids or group of kids sitting by themselves at a table if they behave. But whether they behave or not, I do not want to sit at the table with them. This is why people are talking about leaving, not because they think kids shouldn't sit alone, but because they don't want to be the only adults sitting with them. That's the parents' job. And if I were to walk out based on this (and I might) I would first ask if I could be moved. If the server/manager said no, then I'd leave - BEFORE ordering. That is not stealing. Nor is it about having to sit next to a child, it's sitting with a group of just kids. You're then the de facto adult - even though they are not your kids.

As a side note, on my last outing with a teen/kid table placed next to me, I witnessed the youngest child sucking on the salt shaker. The young teen took it away and put it back on the table, but it never occurred to her that the shaker needed to be washed before others used it. I reported it to the wait staff after the table left. Even though I was not at that table, my proximity placed me in the position of "Adult by Default".

I wanted to bold text the points made by TDC Nala and Friendly Frog because they both seem to get at the heart of the matter: If you're sitting at a communal table with minor children and they are not part of your party, you should not have to tolerate being put into the "default adult" position.