No, it’s not necessarily a plus. If it gets the job done, though, that’s all that matters. Plus the one using age-inappropriate language is a lot funnier than the jackoff parents. Come on, imagine Larry David as Alice’s friend. Or Brian Griffin.
Nope. We were sitting at the next table, he was speaking to me, his companion, not to the restaurant, and as you said, conversation can clearly be overheard when you’re sitting that close. So the guy was actually eavesdropping on* us*. And at 6’5 and 250 lbs., the man does get away with saying things that other people only dare to think. It comes in handy, sometimes.
This will go on for at least three more pages.
And god forbid if **curlcoat **should find her way in.
OK - you have said the name once. For the love of God don’t say it twice more.
She’s posted in the thread already.
Oh bullshit.
Once again, let’s see what you wrote earlier (post #119):
It’s clear that the intent was to make sure the people heard the comment.
Btw, 6’5, 250lbs and getting away with saying things other people only dare to think sounds like a big jackass to me.
One of the advantages to being big, I’d think.
And your point is… ? He looked at them, yes- his remark was part of a private conversation between the two of us. If it was overheard, well, the baby screaming was overheard, as well.
Homer: I know you can read my thoughts, boy… meow-meow-meow-meow
meow-meow-meow-meow
meow-meow-meow-meow
meow-meow-meow-meow
Are you being intentionally obtuse?
Why did he look at them?
I can’t wait to hear your answer, but my answer is intimidation. Most people when faced with a 6’5 250lb goon are going to be intimidated when they already know there’s a problem.
At this point you’re just making excuses for your friend’s bad behavior.
A BIGGGGG jackass. Sometimes the big fellas have a responsibility to say what the rest of us can only think.
No doubt.
Now get off my couch. 
Oh dear. I may have rethink my entire approach to discipline.
Thanks for proving my point. Babies that can disturb other diners and obscenities that can disturb other diners are both rude.
Not to mention, no way in HELL is it the waitperson’s job to watch your kid for even a minute, even for an extra 50 cents or whatever that extra 2-3 percent is.
My vote is a) you’re an ass, and/or b) you’re whooshing us. (Rhythmdvl, not otternell that is!)
Well… as the parent of 2 kids who went to restaurants with us fairly often from a fairly young age: Yes… but that does NOT mean you can’t go to restaurants.
What it does mean is:
[ul]
[li]You choose the sorts of restaurants you go to (noisy family-style places good, fancy places bad)[/li][li]You bring plenty of entertainment for the youngster (we kept a bagful of small toys in the car to bring with us for occasions like this[/li][li]You don’t do it alone (i.e. always do it with 2 adults)[/li][li]You put managing the child’s behavior as top priority, over enjoying your own meal.[/li][li]You distract baby the minute his dissatisfaction becomes at all vocal.[/li][li]You take baby out of the restaurant IMMEDIATELY if the child gets too noisy (there were many meals where one of us walked outside with the kid while the other one ate, then we switched duties… for a full year with Dweezil, we could not eat together at restaurants).[/li][li]Relax and enjoy dessert? Hahahahahahahahaha!!![/li][li]Tip very very well. At the VERY least, chances are the poor wait staff will have to clean Cheerios up from the carpet. [/li][/ul]
If you’re not prepared to do all of the above, then get a sitter or call out for pizza. It’s not fair to the other diners, or the restaurant staff, or yourself really, unless you’re the sort of ass who can enjoy a meal while ignoring Baby screaming the place down.
Heh, I guess this one gets preserved in the hall of fame under the title “graceful”.
PS: read my post #23 - well before you chose to grace us with your cogent remarks. See also post 43, post 166, etc. etc.
I guess it is no surprise that you have failed, again, to notice that I was disagreeing not with the reasonable position I’d adopted before you even appeared, but with your unreasonable position concerning excluding the kids.
As do I. Note I took no issue with those posts - because I agreed with them, basically.
I only took issue with those posts I disagreed with, which I found unreasonable - mainly those whose opinions were that kids should not be out in public at all, until they are perfectly able to behave. And there have been some.
It does not help that some here seemingly cannot grasp that, for the most part, we are not disagreeing on the essentials - see the Shot from Guns idiocy as an example.
Should have kept reading. The whole post was facetious, as the thread went on to point out and be amused by.
My position is perfectly reasonable. The only unreasonable position is your made-out-of-whole-cloth strawman misapprehension of what I’ve said.
1.) When children misbehave in public in such a way to cause a disturbance, their parents should (a) make attempts to quiet them and/or (b) remove them.
2.) Parents should not bring their children into public areas where they might cause a disturbance until they have reasonable cause to believe that their child is capable of behaving. What constitutes “reasonable cause” will obviously be left to the parent to decide. The main point is, if your kid can’t behave when they’re eating dinner at home, they shouldn’t be brought to a restaurant. If your child is large enough to get up and run around on their own, but not yet mature enough to understand that a restaurant is not a place to play tag (or to listen when you tell them to get back in their seat), then you shouldn’t be bringing them out yet, because the night will indubitably end badly.
3.) However, if your child is at least theoretically capable of not being a nuisance to you and any other patrons of the restaurant, theater, etc., you are perfectly welcome to bring them out with you, provided you keep a firm grasp on #1.
If you’re going to contend that I’m being unreasonable here, I might as well criticize your hatred of Jews, since there’s exactly as much evidence. So, why are you such a Nazi? If you love Hitler so much, why don’t you marry him? Huh? Huh?