Carolina Beach restaurant to parents: "Screaming children will not be tolerated."

[NFS4]

I wish more restaurants took this stance

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.

 

[Vette73]

Must not be to old as I grew up in that area and never heard of them.

But they don;t kick you out here is what they said...

"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."


I agree with that. My young son gets loud sometimes. So one of us just takes him outside and lets him walk around. And 5 minutes later he is happy again and goes back in.

 

[xSauronx]

good call. i didnt take my kids out to restaurants when they were prone to screaming because i felt it would be extremely rude of me to do so. once they grew up and really understood it wasnt acceptable, then i started taking them out

they dont screw around in public, they know i wont tolerate it because its rude to other people.

 

[dfuze]

It wouldn't come down to things like this if people had enough courtesy to remove a screaming child so they don't ruin other's meals.

 

[NFS4]

It wouldn't come down to things like this if people had enough courtesy to remove a screaming child so they don't ruin other's meals.

THIS x eleventy billion!

 

[Ancalagon44]

"You can't help it if your kids scream."

So you just let them do what they want and dont instill discipline in them? Way to set them up to fail.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Cool. There are tons of places for families to eat, it doesn't hurt anyone to have the occasional venue that forbids screaming kids. No one loses.

 

[NFS4]

So you just let them do what they want and dont instill discipline in them? Way to set them up to fail.

Granted, I just saw the footage on the local news and the woman that said this was holding a newborn. You can't really control them...

That being said, I can't imagine taking a newborn out to a restaurant anyway. I'd be too embarrassed about making the dining experience miserable for other customers.

 

[Capt Caveman]

It wouldn't come down to things like this if people had enough courtesy to remove a screaming child so they don't ruin other's meals.

I can only assume that some parents are just so desensitized to their kids screaming at home and don't notice it as being so disruptive out in public.

 

[Sea Moose]

I totally agree with the sign,

I went to a nice pizza place, and ordered a take away pizza. There were two kids running around the take away part of the restaurant and the mother was just sitting there doing nothing .

She would occasionaly ask the children to stop misbehaving, but they ignored her.

In their psycho hyperactive running around they managed to bend the laser beam reflector so the front door bell was going off constantly

I wanted to strangle those ill disciplined little brats

 

[Terzo]

So...it's still okay if I scream my lungs out?

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

It's never too late for an abortion.

 

[Exterous]

It wouldn't come down to things like this if people had enough courtesy to remove a screaming child so they don't ruin other's meals.

:thumbsup: Maybe it just seems this way but I think todays parents are a LOT lazier than parents of my generation (And even then I think they were starting to slip). Neither my friends or I would have gotten away with half the shit I see parents let their kids do now a days

 

[NFS4]

:thumbsup: Maybe it just seems this way but I think todays parents are a LOT lazier than parents of my generation (And even then I think they were starting to slip). Neither my friends or I would have gotten away with half the shit I see parents let their kids do now a days

My dad would jack me up if I pulled that crap. All it took was a look or for him to call my name in a stern voice -- I'd quickly stop acting like a little shit.

 

[xSauronx]

Granted, I just saw the footage on the local news and the woman that said this was holding a newborn. You can't really control them...

That being said, I can't imagine taking a newborn out to a restaurant anyway. I'd be too embarrassed about making the dining experience miserable for other customers.

exactly and exactly. when i was married my wife wanted to take the kids, well under 2 years old, to movies with us when we couldnt find a sitter...what a jackass she was. i refused. id be *pissed* if someone brought their kids toa movie i wanted to watch and i had to hear them crying the whole time

 

[chin311]

FINAL-FUCKING-LY, wish this was every restaurant around me.

its the worst when you are having a nice time at a nice table then some goons come in with their army of rugrats and sit close by and there goes the night.

hate kids

 

[shortylickens]

We need that sign on every restaurant and movie theater in America.
And I'm guessing probably Canada and England too.

 

[Mursilis]

:thumbsup: Maybe it just seems this way but I think todays parents are a LOT lazier than parents of my generation (And even then I think they were starting to slip). Neither my friends or I would have gotten away with half the shit I see parents let their kids do now a days

I think with so many two-worker households, so many parents have deep-seated guilt about not spending more time with their kids, and are reluctant to discipline them in any way. That, or maybe it's just pure laziness. Either way, it's unacceptable. Parenting is not an easy task (I have 4 kids - I know what it's like), but it's no time to be a slacker. You're not doing yourself, your kids, or the rest of the world any favors if you aren't being a diligent parent.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I can only assume that some parents are just so desensitized to their kids screaming at home and don't notice it as being so disruptive out in public.

Some parents also feel that if a child is throwing a temper tantrum, the best thing to do is ignore them. That's fine -- AT HOME. Not in a public place. If I pulled half the stuff I see these little brats pulling today, my mom or dad would've taken me to the bathroom or the car for a "talk." And by "talk," I mean an ass whipping.

 

[highland145]

It wouldn't come down to things like this if people had enough courtesy to remove a screaming child so they don't ruin other's meals.

THIS x eleventy billion!

+1. I have taken my crying infant son out before.

20+ years ago put on a comment card that families with kids should be separated from regular customers because they sat the unruly next to us. From the look on the cashiers face, you would have thought I was suggesting eating them.

That's an idea.

 

[Phokus]

Great idea. Also kick out screaming children off airplanes

 

[pmv]

I like the way the sign makes it clear it applies to adults too. Fair's fair. Some adults are a lot louder than children. Please tell me they ban cell phones also?

 

[SunnyD]

So you just let them do what they want and dont instill discipline in them? Way to set them up to fail.

Yes, because disciplining a screaming toddler will make them stop screaming.

 

[destrekor]

My kind of restaurant.

I worked in one for a little while. When you have a little asshole who gets unruly, it's just wrong, ruins the casual dining experience for the other customers. Also, it greatly pisses off the restaurant employees when your little runt gets food in places one cannot imagine finding food.

However, I must recognize my awesome blood. My sister's kid, a handful of months old, she says she often takes out to restaurants and he just sits there and typically sleeps. When she flew out here to visit, she brought the baby to the sports bar with us. He just stared out, loved looking at the lights, and for the 2 hours or so we were there, had absolutely zero problem sitting there quietly.

Will that continue when he is a year old, two? Who knows... but for now, he's apparently one of those rare good babies.

 

[destrekor]

Yes, because disciplining a screaming toddler will make them stop screaming.

Well, that attitude is taken by parents with kids of all ages. How were readers supposed to know the age of her kids, based only upon her quote?

One poster mentioned in the video she was holding a toddler - that visual clue completely changes her statement, at least in personal terms.

But many parents take and run with that blanket-statement. And for a one year old, sure it applies; for a five year old, it definitely only applies to lazy parents.

And after awhile, you figure out what type of kid you have; if it's a screamer, you don't take it out if you can't make it stop in short order.