[merylsilverburg]

Originally Posted by Berserker

Fully agreed! Some guy in Holland banned children from his restaurant, because he stated "people pay good money to enjoy their meal, in a quiet peaceful surrounding"(or something like that). People started to brand him as a fascist, but fact of the matter is the place was packed everynight from then on. So a lot of people agreed.

Good for that guy! That oughta show those parents calling him fascist.

Originally Posted by Beserker

I hate parents who are just laughing at the children being annoying not because they think it's funny but they are to weak-ass to do something about it.

But you know, sadly, there are some parents who actually do laugh at children when they're acting annoying because they think it's "cute" or "adorable" or "funny." It's sickening.

Originally Posted by happy_doughnut

That's why you should spend time with your kid--to let them express themselves in good, safe, non-destructive ways. I'm sorry but running around like confused chicken irregardless of who or what is infront of them, jumping on everything in sight, and putting their dirty hands and feet on every palpable thing is not "expressing themselves." It's just a kid that needs a good spanking. Why are these two things so hard to discern?

Yes, as you said, kids should be allowed to express themselves, but not when they're being a hazard and/or nuisance to others. And parents really ought to see this and discipline them. Here's a good example: again, at the restaurant where I worked before, a lot of the parents that came in just let their kids exhaust their energy by allowing them to create little works of "art" using the wooden chopsticks we set out (I worked in a Chinese restaurant). You guys wouldn't believe how much broken, split, and unused chopsticks were scattered all around the tables and floors by the time they were done. Not only was it a pain in the butt to clean, but we wasted a lot of chopsticks and our food cost became higher as a result!! I get so mad thinking about those days.