Are parents in danger of becoming second-class citizens?

[S02]

Re: Are parents in danger of becoming second-class citizens?

@somegroovychick

but then where is appropriate? because i think that eating out is something everyone should be allowed to do, and a busy parent even more than most because i can just imagine them wanting to get out of the house for a change and see something else and do something else. i don’t think these people in question are bringing their children to 5-star restaurants at night or nightclubs or bars… they’re probably just going out for lunch and brunch etc. which are pretty family friendly activities. i mean, as a parent, let me tell you, if my world shrunk down to yo gabba gabba and mcdonalds with a playplace, i *will *lose my mind.

and maybe this is a controversial thought and clearly an unpopular opinion here, but if my kid has a crying fit while i’m eating, sure i’ll do what i can to calm him down, but i ain’t walking out, that’s for sure. i’ve paid for my meal too and taken time out to come and eat it too and my time is far more precious when it comes to scheduling things between naptimes and feedings than the average childless person who can comparatively speaking just up and go anywhere. i have very little sympathy for people who don’t want me and my baby around because it will inconvenience their ear drums for an hour out of their precious life. if you don’t like it, maybe you should get up and leave and take a walk around the block to calm down like you expect me to do with my baby.

I think it depends on the child’s age. When my daughter was an infant, we would take her along. The only concern was that she’d wake up and want to be held, but that wasn’t hard to address, and we weren’t really disturbing the atmosphere of the restaurant.

But there were times where the noise or lighting or whatever seemed to much for her and we would take her out.

But toddlers are very different.

1. Toddlers don’t want to sit still. Sure you can train them to sit and eat for a little while, and bring their toys or coloring to keep them busy at the table, but they are in a new place and it is only natural for them to want to explore and run around.

2. It’s one thing to scold a child when they do something wrong, as long as a right option is available. But if the right option is simply “sit still” I think that that is a little unfair to them.