Restaurant says NO to screaming children!

[snakemama]

http://www.wect.com/global/story.asp?s=13107715#

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WECT) - A restaurant in Carolina Beach is stirring up controversy over a couple of signs reading, "Screaming children will not be tolerated."

The owner of the Olde Salty restaurant, Brenda Armes, is tired of having her customers complain to her about children misbehaving and screaming when others are trying to enjoy a quiet meal.

Armes says the signs have worked.

"It has been a good thing for us," Armes said. "It has brought us in more customers than it has ever kept away."

Gary Gibson was dining at the restaurant for the first time and agrees with Armes.

"It's not very enjoyable when you hear a bunch of kids screaming. It's nice to see a sign like that up," Gibson said.

While many are for the rule, some families are against it.

"I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."

Armes says that if a child is screaming, a restaurant employee will ask the parent to take them outside to calm down. They will not be asked to leave the restaurant for good.

"We want to attract the type of people that come in knowing they aren't going to have to sit behind a table with a bunch of screaming children," Armes said.

Copyright 2010 WECT. All rights reserved.

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It's about time! A policy like this would make any restaurant a regular date-night stop for me and the hubby. As for the woman who said "you can't help it if your kids scream" HA! Yeah right. You can always step outside and not inflict it on others.

This article totally made my morning.

[lvpets2002]

Hey I totally agree with them.. I will avoid a eating place for sure if there is screaming kids in there.. And the owners of the place has that right to make their owns rules..

[sparks19]

I am a mom and I agree with this too. I can't stand going to a restaurant with kids who are screaming and the parents just sit there like they don't even hear it or care. I do not allow hannah to carry on like that in a restaurant and she's knows not to act up but if she was really in a mood and was screaming we would leave. It's not enjoyable for us either to sit there with a screaming child of our own. leaving would be the best option for everyone. the patrons, the parents and for the child.

there is no reason to let your child carry on like that and not DO something about it. If it cuts your night short... well so be it

[pomtzu]

What I find even more annoying (if that's possible), is "the monster in the booth behind you". This kid rocks and bangs on the back of the booth he is in, and it reverberates into the one you're sitting in. Then he stands up and hangs over the back of his seat and into the booth you are in, starring at you and your party, and sometimes practically slobbering down your back, and all the while, kicking the back of the booth he is in! And the parents say nothing to the little darlings!!! I have on more than one occasion, asked the parents to please control their child/chilldren, as I would really like to eat my dinner in peace.

Do they have "No Children" sections in restaurants, as there used to be "No Smoking" ones? If not - there should be!

[Pinot's Mom]

"I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."
That quote really got me! If YOU can't help it if your kids scream, why not?? Isn't that called PARENTING? RESPONSIBILITY (I know, that's a bad word)??

I am for this policy completely, and I'm also for a no cell phone policy in restaurants. I was at lunch yesterday, at a place I go often, in a booth (alone, reading while eating). At the next booth, the man answered one of those annoying communicators that squawk really loudly when someone's at the other end, then proceeded to hold the thing several inches from his head and have a VERY HIGH VOLUME conversation not three feet from me. This is the type of adult these screaming kids grow up to be; not a pleasant prospect!

[*LabLoverKEB*]

I am happy to see this. And I think that Sparks19 is a responsible parent for also agreeing with this, I would have thought most parents would be offended by this, but who knows. It is really annoying to have screaming (and kids who kick booths/chairs) children while you are trying to enjoy a meal! But I also feel for the parents, at least the ones who are trying everything to keep their children happy and busy while at a restaurant.

[snakemama]

My bestie has an adorable nine month old daughter who is normally a total sweetie, but last time we went out to dinner she and I spent more time walking in circles around the parking lot than actually eating. Poor little one had had it with the noisy restaurant.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

It seems like the restaurant owners should be allowed to decide that kind of thing so I don't know why anyone would think it controversial (like it states in the article). It's probably a good thing, though, so parents and people who want to get away for a quiet meal know what to expect. Maybe every restaurant should have some kind of a policy on loudness (and not just for little kids- there are plenty of obnoxious adults out there, too!).

I do think it is rude if parents let their kids scream for too long in public places. No, sometimes it can't be helped when kids decide to have a meltdown, but you can remove the child from the situation. Lately my daughter is harder to eat out with because she is on the go all the time and doesn't like to sit down for a long time. I have to make sure to either find a place that will keep the visit short or plan ahead to keep her occupied in some way. There are plenty of child-friendly restaurants so I don't see why anyone would be offended by this sign.

[Alysser]

http://www.wect.com/global/story.asp?s=13107715#

"I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."

This is like me saying "I can't help it if I can't control my dog at the dog park or in a pet store". Mikey doesn't behave well in social situations, so he stays at home. He gets plenty of walks but not to petstores, although I would eventually like to find a nice dog park, we haven't tried him at one of those.

But anyway, it's usually irresponsible parents who are the first to complain about responsible pet owners. I don't understand why you'd be offended by this sign. It's not saying you can't come in the restaurant if you have children and they're not going to kick you out if your kid started screaming, but it's not fair to subject people to a child screaming in public. I find it rude when anyone is screaming in a restaurant, not just kids. But you can certainly control your own kid, it's called taking responsibility. I suppose some people always need something to be "offended" about lol.

[cassiesmom]

Boy, this is a tough one. Some restaurants are just more family-friendly than others. My mom used to always have me pick out a book or a quiet toy for a diversion if she knew we were going to a place where waiting would be involved.

But adults ... I've sat next to a group of adults making loud conversation, or someone talking nonstop on a cell phone. So maybe the restaurant should consider restricting noisy adults as well as screaming children.

[Bonny]

One time I was giving a young mother with her two children a tour along with an older lady that had joined us. They were good little kids but the little boy got to noisy for the older lady & she told the mother to shut the little boy up. The older lady, little girl & I proceeded into the parlor room & the mother stayed in another room with the little boy. I ended up going between rooms & apolgizing for the older ladies actions. Both were paying guests. I thought at the end of the tour they would go there separate ways but they both ended up in the gift shop. The mother was a good mom & bought the children some books & the older lady bought some books too. I hate to say this but the older lady reminded me of a mean old prison warden. She looked like she could eat nails. With the cell phones there is nothing like hearing about the trials & tribulations of peoples lifes.

[prechrswife]

"I've never seen a restaurant say, don't bring your screaming kids in here," said Ashley Heflin, who is a mom of two. "You can't help it if your kids scream."
That quote really got me! If YOU can't help it if your kids scream, why not?? Isn't that called PARENTING? RESPONSIBILITY (I know, that's a bad word)??

I'm a parent of 3 small kids, and that quote hit me the same way. We do eat out with our kids, and they will be kids, but we don't tolerate screaming and running around in a restaurant. We've taught them that from the beginning, and they know that's the way it is. We actually get lots of compliments on our kids' behavior when we do eat out.

We were at a local Chinese buffet restaurant at lunch one day, and two men seated at the booth next to us got up and moved about 3 booths down when we were seated next to them. Our kids...quiet. The two men...talking very loudly and using foul language within earshot of our kids.

As someone else said, some restaurants are just more family-friendly than others, and we do try to keep that in mind when we are trying to figure out where to go.

[momcat]

Good for them! It's about time! Hopefully others will follow their lead.

[Casper]

Sounds like a good idea to me! I remember when my sister and I were little.. if we acted up in public my mum wouldn't hesitate to give us a good ol' butt-whooping. Granted, I was a silent child, so I didn't have a problem with this.


I also think restaurants should encourage people to put their cellphones on silent. One of my mum's friends often takes me out to eat as thanks for helping her with her computer. She's good company, and I love talking with her, but she never has her phone on silent. Last time we ate together her phone was ringing off the hook... and on top of that, she has one of those ringtones that are just high-pitched jibberish. I can guarantee that every single face in the restaurant was looking at us. I was about ready to crawl under the table...

Haha, sorry. I got a tad bit off topic.

[neko1]

Do they have "No Children" sections in restaurants, as there used to be "No Smoking" ones? If not - there should be!

That would be awesome! As a childfree individual who lives a quiet life, my ears cannot tolerate such excessive noise from screaming children.

Kids want to yell? That's fine if you're at Chuck-e-cheese, but please, if it's a nice place to eat, I don't want to hear your kids screaming or running around or kicking the booth, etc.... it gives me an instant headache.

(I too, cannot stand adults yapping loudly on their cell phones either- they can be just as bad as kids!)