Is this cute anymore?

By sofs
@sofssu (23662)
August 12, 2015 5:02am CST
I was having dinner at a restaurant with my husband and it was our special day. The couple at the next table had a cute little 3-4 year old with them. He smiled at everyone and was playing like a normal 4 ear old in the aisle. Suddenly the boy started to act crazy. He was screaming, howling throwing a temper tantrum while the parents were busy eating and the mother would now and again give him a indulgent look saying, "come here my angel." The yelling became real loud and I could neither hear what my husband was saying nor did I enjoy my meal. The boy then started to throw stuff randomly at other diners and the mother just said 'mind your manners Tom' or something to that effect ( I don't remember the name though) Suddenly there was a loud noise from the table beside us, we noticed that the little boy had just slipped off his shoes and thrown it into the soup bowl of the people at that table. A big argument ensued and the boy's mother kept saying that he was a small 'baby' and she would pay for the soup. The couple who bore the brunt of the boy's tantrums just got up and walked away without finishing their dinner. We decided to go someplace else to have our dessert. What really bothered me was that neither the father nor the mother seemed to be upset with the child's behavior. Do you think its okay for parents not to discipline their children and let them lose on other unsuspecting people minding their own business? I love children, I have two of my own,but I don't think this is cute.
5 people like this
4 responses
• Valdosta, Georgia
12 Aug 15
I do not think that type of behavior is cute nor acceptable. It is ridiculous and I would NEVER allow my children to behave that way! I would have taken that child to the bathroom and dealt with the problem right then. Parents amaze me with what they let their kids get away with-it's awful. I could always take my children anywhere-including church and not have to worry about what their behavior will be like!
2 people like this
@rosekiss (30380)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Aug 15
My goodness, his behaviour is something to be desired. You would have thought that the parents would have had more concern about what he was doing than what they did. If he were mine, I would have taken him out to the car and disciplined him, and wouldn't have returned until he was completely calm and promised not to do it again. I feel for the person, who had his shoe in their soup. I don't blame them for walking out. I would have done the same thing. Some parents just don't know how to discipline their children, as they allow them to get by doing things they shouldn't. I blame the parents more than him, as he wasn't brought up right, and that is very sad. I certainly don't blame you for leaving either. You did the right things.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
21 Aug 15
@rosekiss The best gifts parents can give children is good moral training and good social skills.Without both they turn into little monsters and threaten the peace of the society.. most continue to be so even after they have reached adulthood.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
12 Aug 15
Like you I could take my kids anywhere without any fear of bad behavior. I would also deal with unacceptable behavior immediately. Consistency in correction and discipline, along with appreciation of good behavior leads to learning of acceptable behavior. The mother was doing just the opposite.
2 people like this
• Germany
12 Aug 15
Well, I would say that this behavior is unacceptable not only in a restaurant. I might understand the situation if I knew that the kid was autistic. But who knows?
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
12 Aug 15
That kid wasn't autistic for sure.. he had good social skills for an autistic kid. However, it was the mothers behavior that irked most of the diners there.
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@GardenGerty (157627)
• United States
21 Aug 15
One of the things I have noticed in my community is that we often expect better behavior from the handicapped, mental or physical, than we expect from "normal" children. I have worked with both.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
21 Aug 15
@GardenGerty Oh you are so right about that..
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
21 Aug 15
Oh boy... No I would not think of that as cute, and I think the parents were very negligent. Not only did they ruin everyone else's dinner, but how will it be when cute little one is sixteen.. twenty.. thirty? and perhaps has never learned self control because of his so negligent parents.. this is foolishness to me!
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23662)
21 Aug 15
@flowerchilde Honestly do parents ever think of those things? Are these things of the past..I feel I am too old fashioned these days.. Cute.. it will be when they deal with them in their teenage years.
@GardenGerty (157627)
• United States
21 Aug 15
Allowing a child to have behavior like that does him no good and sets him up for someone to give him a good thrashing when he is older. He is not a baby. It is not cute. He needs to be taught how to behave and to entertain himself without damaging or being rude to others.
2 people like this
@sofssu (23662)
21 Aug 15
@GardenGerty Honestly that's what I think ... sometimes I feel like mothers need more sense than this.... when they fail to teach their children skills for life they've failed them completely.
1 person likes this