Kids cry.  And kids do cry in restaurants.

Irritating? Annoying?

Very!

But, does it warrant a total ban?

A restaurant in Atlanta definitely agrees because they have put out a notice at the bottom of their menus banning crying kids from their restaurant and it reads:

“Dear all present and future patrons: GCP is proud of its reputation as a family restaurant, a title that we will work to keep. Unfortunately a number of our diners have posted unpleasant experiences because of crying and unsupervised children. To ensure that all diners have an enjoyable lunch or dinner with us we respectfully ask that parents tend to their crying tots outside”.

People are enraged, as would be expected, with the new Restaurant notice but the owner of the restaurant defended his decision saying he had no problem with kids coming to his restaurant but he had received numerous complaints from customers who were complaining about crying children in the restaurant.

Personally, I must say I totally understand why these customers complained, because the truth is it’s very irritating being in a restaurant trying to enjoy a quiet dinner and there is a child wailing.

Same as being on a plane, especially a long flight,  and there is a child that won’t keep quiet or being in a movie theater and it’s hard to concentrate or enjoy the movie because there is a child screaming or running around endlessly. It is totally unsettling.

But at the same time, I know and understand that kids cry. I am sure these parents don’t carry their children to these places expecting them to cry because they are disturbing their peace too.  However, my understanding and empathy stops with infants because these are little babies and being fussy is what they do and sometimes there is nothing to do to calm them down.

When it’s older kids then I get angry with their parents because I believe they should somehow be able to control their kids, especially when in a public place.  Parents need to consider other people around them and remember that it’s a public place and not their play room.

What’s annoying is when these kids are crying or being unruly and their parents sit by like nothing is happening. What they should do find a way to calm their child down, as only a parent can, so people are not uncomfortable and inconvienced.  Kids of a certain age should be taught appropriate public behavior.

The restaurant has the right to implement this policy, but people with kids also need to be more responsible when in public. There is nothing wrong with taking kids to a restaurant but they should know how to handle their tantrums. The restaurant is right to listen to its customers and take action.