|
I was given the opportunity to live abroad and do a LOT of traveling (read: to over 20 countries on four continents) before my eighth birthday, because my dad's job required him to do a bunch of stuff overseas. The company my dad worked for was pretty nice about paying for nice hotels and nice restaurants, so I grew up going to really really nice places. However, my parents raised us from an extremely early age to behave like little angels in these places - you know, quiet, respectful voices, napkins in your lap, proper use of silverware, etc. We never even considered acting out in any of these places because we knew if we did our parents wouldn't take us along on trips - so we never acted out, threw fits because we couldn't find anything to eat (we all grew up to have an adventurous palate and will try basically anything) or anything of the like. We were also given the opportunity to fly first class and the same standard of behavior was expected from us, which we also met.
If parents are going to raise their children the way my parents raised my siblings and I - that is to say, if they teach them how to behave in nice places and impose consequences if children misbehave - I see no problem in taking them out. On the other hand, kids who are going to act out and create scenes have no place eating at the Olive Garden, let alone a nice restaurant.
|