[aephi alum]

*bump*

<rant>

Ugh... So I was on vacation last week, and saw something that really irritated me. We went to dinner at the hotel restaurant one evening. As we entered the restaurant, we nearly tripped over a 5-year-old who was running out the door. As we were waiting to be seated, we saw that the table nearest the door, which had been set for 10, had at it 3 couples and about 8 kids ranging in age from infants to 5 or 6 years old. One of the chairs had been pushed back from the table, and in its place there was a play mat where 2 or 3 of the babies were crawling around and playing with various squeaky toys. The older kids were running wild, all around the restaurant and outside - and when they ran outside, none of the adults got up to keep an eye on them. A stroller was parked IN the restaurant's doorway. The staff had to constantly dodge the babies and children, often while carrying hot food or drinks, and the poor maitre d' looked like he was at his wits' end!

I'm all for bringing your kids with you to dinner, even at nice restaurants - IF they can behave properly in public. Plainly, these children were incapable of that, and their parents were incapable of disciplining them. If I'd acted like that I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week!

Those parents should have arranged for room service and a babysitter for the kids (the hotel did offer babysitting), or staggered their dinner times so that someone could watch the kids, or at a bare minimum, kept the babies in their carriers instead of all over the floor, and told the older kids to sit properly in their seats and not to run around, or they will be taken back to their room (and no dessert!).

*sigh*

</rant>