# Damnit, she's only 18 months old, she's gonna touch that hot plate no matter what you say! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 8, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306 "2012-05-08T18:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/121 "2012-05-09T15:50:15Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > FWIW, I would also expect a waiter not to put a hot plate in front of an elderly person who was obviously suffering from some form of dementia or otherwise incapacitated. It’s just basic common sense not to put dangerous items in front of people who might hurt themselves. The most hilarious part of the this whole thread is that fact that at least 90% of servers know this and take the extra 15 seconds required to make sure everyone is safe/happy. 10% of servers are too stunned to figure it out. **Dangerosa** is right - if the bitch had been about slow service, or cold food, or a bug floating in a wineglass there would have been a bunch of hearty woo-hoos, but because there is a small child involved obviously the careless parent is at fault. Not the shitty bottom 10% server who probably is also slow, brings cold food, and serves wine with bugs in it and has no business doing that job in the first place. Yes, I get that the economy sucks and everyone needs a job; however, if you’re extraordinarily bad at yours I reserve the right to bitch about being exposed to your incompetence. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/122 "2012-05-09T16:00:47Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Chuck E Cheese is a restaurant. Claiming otherwise is extraordinarily stupid. Regardless of how it’s defined, I’ve had the displeasure of going there twice in the past two years. (No, _not_ to “cruise for tail”… for my nephew’s birthday.) On both occasions, the fare included drywallesque slabs of pizza served on cool platters and transferred onto non-toxic, non-irritating (room temperature) paper plates. Are there really CEC franchises out there plopping white-hot ceramic in front of toddlers, or was that a hyperbolic example? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/123 "2012-05-09T16:05:51Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Are there really CEC franchises out there plopping white-hot ceramic in front of toddlers, or was that a hyperbolic example? Considering the hyperbole in the rest of her posts in this thread, you’d expect the Chuck E Cheese that she patronizes to force glowing orbs of freshly blown glass into the mouths of infants. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/124 "2012-05-09T16:34:57Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Are there really CEC franchises out there plopping white-hot ceramic in front of toddlers, or was that a hyperbolic example? Dunno - I’ve never actually eaten there - I was using CEC as an example of a family restaurant where I would expect servers to give a nod to toddler food temperature, and apparently, based on your post, they do. However, I have had steaming hot ceramics set in front of junior in Boston Pizza (my first example), Swiss Chalet, and Moxies\*, all of which feature high chairs, crayons, and children’s menus. When this happens I roll my eyes, move the hot item out of Junior’s way, and reduce the tip of the shitty server who did it. \*As an aside, I do wonder why people who _DON’T_ have children choose to eat at these places. The food is shitty, the atmosphere is obnoxious, and the service is craptastic. I mean, we eat there when we’re with Junior because we kind of have to. Why anyone who wasn’t forced into it would choose one of these places is beyond me. When the Mr. and I are going out for a nice dinner without Junior we go to the Grizzly House in Banff - boiling hot oil fondue, 650 degree hot rocks, and not a child in sight. Ahhh, bliss. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/125 "2012-05-09T16:51:17Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “Ow! Daddy, I burned my hand! Owie!” > > “Not _now_ honey, I’m lecturing the manager!” You, sir, are on fire this thread. ---
**Author:** ![jdubs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@jdubs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdubs)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/126 "2012-05-09T17:35:11Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > I’ve been amused in the thread about the perceived level of danger from hot plates. Like someone else said, I’ve never seen anyone get burned either. I mean, “red hot”, seriously? Here’s a little lesson for you that don’t understand, the wait staff uses a towel sometimes to bring a plate to the table as they have to actually hold it, clasp it with their hand, without any real option of putting it anywhere else. Your little darlings can touch, feel heat and immediately withdraw their hand. That’s how we learn not to touch hot things. If your child is clasping something “red hot” and not letting go despite pain then frankly you’ve got other issues with the child that mean they probably need a lot more specialist attention than you are giving and, frankly, is way beyond the job description for wait staff, even if rudimentary babysitting is included. > > TL;DR version: Plates can be hot. They’re not red hot. Your child doesn’t touch them long enough to cause any damage. Thank you. The hyperbole in this thread is staggering. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/127 "2012-05-09T17:52:08Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Why would he catch on? He’s got used to you being a proper parent and moving stuff out of the way of your child, letting you be in control of your child’s interaction with the food on the table. You’re right. I can’t think of any reason that a waiter might pay attention to what his patrons want in order to provide slightly better service. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/128 "2012-05-09T18:27:30Z")
> [@jdubs](#): > > Thank you. The hyperbole in this thread is staggering. No it isn’t! No one is exaggerating anything! At all! Ever! ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/129 "2012-05-09T18:33:29Z")
Excuse my ignorance, but how can a child in a high chair reach a plate on the table? ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/130 "2012-05-09T18:45:38Z")
Restaurant high chairs aren’t generally the kind with their own trays. They’re just a tall chair with a seatbelt that you scoot up to the table. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/131 "2012-05-09T18:48:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I never once thought it was the waitstaff’s responsibility to cater to my child. Technically it is. Along with the kitchen staff 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/132 "2012-05-09T18:48:40Z")
> [@sandra\_nz](#): > > Excuse my ignorance, but how can a child in a high chair reach a plate on the table? Not if the high chair is pulled back a little from the table. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/133 "2012-05-09T18:49:14Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Technically it is. Along with the kitchen staff 🙂 This is a restaurant, we’re not in the catering business! ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/134 "2012-05-09T19:39:43Z")
This thread reminds me of the time I was at a hibachi restaurant, where they cook the food on that huge metal grill in front of you. Saw one kid lean forward and place his entire palm on the grill. For about 1/2 a second. He didn’t even cry at first, he was so stunned. Then the crying started when the pain kicked in. But it didn’t last long, the kid was fine, and the family stayed to finish their meal. He looked about 4-5. Now that is what I’d call red hot. Not stupid restaurant “hot” plates. Why does this thread even exist? ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/135 "2012-05-09T22:26:08Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > This thread reminds me of the time I was at a hibachi restaurant, where they cook the food on that huge metal grill in front of you. Saw one kid lean forward and place his entire palm on the grill. For about 1/2 a second. He didn’t even cry at first, he was so stunned. Then the crying started when the pain kicked in. > > But it didn’t last long, the kid was fine, and the family stayed to finish their meal. He looked about 4-5. > > Now that is what I’d call red hot. Not stupid restaurant “hot” plates. Why does this thread even exist? Jesus… I’ve seen exactly **one** poster sympathetic to the OP make any reference to “red hot” - I know I haven’t. Talk about hyperbole. Try this mental exercise - replace “hot/sizzling/red hot/flaming plate” with “glass of water” or “cup of piping hot coffee” or “sharp steak knife” or “meat grinder”\* - basically, anything normally found in a restaurant that should obviously **not** be placed near a small, toddler-sized human with a proclivity for tactile sensory perception. \*By the way, I’m being facetious with the meat grinder - in case you need it spelled out for you. And as for your example - I’m not expecting the staff at the local Benihana to prevent my kid from lunging over the counter to crawl across the grill - that’s my job, and I do it well (most of the time - those buggers can be fast, and sometimes there’s a game on the TV in the corner I’ve got money on). But I certainly expect them not to place things next to my child that could do them obvious harm, or even cause a minor inconvenience. Of course, when someone _does_ do something stupid, it is obviously my job to rectify that before my kid takes advantage of said stupidity. But that’s just the point; it’s pretty fucking stupid to put anything near a kid that doesn’t belong near a kid. If you are of working age, and it is your job to serve me (for which you will be rewarded with a generous tip should you serve me in even an adequate capacity) I expect you to use any cognitive abiities you posess to ensure that the patrons at the table are served appropriately. This does include placing crayons and tippy cups near the toddler - it does not include placing the sizzling rice and green tea next to said toddler. Inappropriate serving of items will be bitched about, whether to the manager, to my friends, or in the case of the OP, on an (allegedly) mundane, pointless forum on a message board. Do you people get the point now? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/136 "2012-05-10T02:19:59Z")
Come on you guys, the answer was on the first page. If you have a child and you absolutely need to eat food outside of the privacy of your own home, you can just rent the private room of your country club. I don’t know why people are so resistant to use such a simple solution. A server is in a customer service position- and the people at that table are their customers. While obviously it’s not your job to do whatever your customer asks you to, it’s not unreadable to not do things that actively hurt the customer. For example, as a waitress I would wash my hands regularly. I wouldn’t want any guests to get sick from my runny nose, especially if they have any immune system problems. I wouldn’t say “Hey, It’s not my responsibility to deal with your sister’s chemotherapy. If you want a clean glass, why don’t you go back there and clean it yourself?” I was a waitress as a childless 20 year old only child, and it was clear to me not to put the dangerous stuff in front of the baby. ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/137 "2012-05-10T04:34:45Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > And you know what? I was happy to do those things because I was a good waitress, and also not an asshole. > > Because frankly, not giving a shit about a small child getting burnt when you put something hot in front of them, because their parent is a bit clueless, makes you a big, fat asshole. Bravo. At last a thinking adult. Until this post I was beginning to think everyone except the OP was a brainless uncaring narcisisstic teen on these boards. Lawyers make a good living teaching people exactly why being an uncaring brainless asshole is a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/138 "2012-05-10T04:57:13Z")
> [@scratch\_llll](#): > > Bravo. At last a thinking adult. Until this post I was beginning to think everyone except the OP was a brainless uncaring narcisisstic teen on these boards. > > Lawyers make a good living teaching people exactly why being an uncaring brainless asshole is a bad thing. So by thinking that a waitress at a family oriented restaurant hasn’t got the sense God gave geese is _brainless, uncaring, narcisisstic, adolescent behavior_, and allowing a dimwit to put a hot plate down where your child can reach it, because waitresses should be smarter than that, isn’t? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/139 "2012-05-10T05:13:03Z")
To be perfectly honest, the parent needs to be paying attention to the kid and the happenings at the table. The server needs to make sure that the adult patrons at the table are aware that food that is probably hot/a hot plate is coming to the table _NOW_ and that the parent needs to make sure that little spawn is not running around presenting a traffic hazard, nor bothering the other guests and is in fact sitting politely at the table waiting for food, being entertained by a sibling or parental unit or sitting there quietly gnawing on a grahamteddie brought from home to keep the anklebiter quiet and entertained until the food arrives. Little spawn needs to be taught ‘company manners’. It is not up to the server nor the restaurant to be a baby sitter, nor OSHA officer for _your_ spawn. We are paying for a quiet meal, in a pleasant environment. If we wanted screaming spawns we would be in Chucky Cheeses or McDonalds. If the server wanted to tend spawn, they would be baby sitters or work in a school or day care facility. If you want a nice meal with no need to watch your spawn, leave them at home with a box of Kraft Dinner and a babysitter. My brother and I were not allowed to run around, nor bother other people. Mom brought a light snack [graham crackers] and a small coloring book and a couple crayons for us to keep us quiet at the table until served, or she arranged for a baby sitter to take care of us while she and Dad or Grandparents went out to dinner if it was something other than the regular Sunday afternoon dinner. [Our family had a habit of Sunday dinner at the Glen Iris Inn in Letchworth State Park in summers after church. If you ever get to western NY in the summer, I can highly recommend it - the views of the gorge and falls are amazing.] ---
**Author:** ![scratch\_llll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@scratch\_llll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch_llll)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306/140 "2012-05-10T05:15:34Z")
Please try to put your thoughts in coherent order, TriPolar. I think I understand you to mean stupid people shouldn’t be allowed near children but even so it would be presumptuous to think all wait persons are stupid. You see where you can’t do that but what you can do is assume children haven’t learned a great deal about life yet. That takes very little brain. Amazingly little. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damnit-shes-only-18-months-old-shes-gonna-touch-that-hot-plate-no-matter-what-you-say/621306.md?page=8)