Out of control Children/Parents

I reviewed a book on Amazon once which I didn't enjoy and which was full of inaccuracies - not grammatical errors but more about the justice system and legal processes which she had got wrong.
The author didn't know me (thank goodness) because 'someone' wrote an excoriating piece in reply and said some extremely nasty and personal things. It was the author (I could follow a link from her pseudonym and it was obvious it was her).
I sometimes put a review on Trip Advisor - of course, I suppose they can put two and two together and track who you are. I hope you complained to Trip Advisor vq - that is not on.
Nellie it is worrying if he is a local business owner. However, if a lot of people put reviews like that on he will be going out of business.
Better to have a child sitting in a high chair than running/crawling all round the restaurant with hot food about.

They get your details when you book with them if it's a restaurant or a hotel.

That's ok vq
It's obvious that some businesses unlike some larger ones, don't take on board the idea that 'every complaint is an opportunity to improve'. IIRC there is an opportunity on Tripadvisor for the business owner to respond to an unfavourable review and if this is done in a positive way it could actually be good for the business as people can see that the business takes customer satisfaction seriously and has made an effort to redress things.
Nellie that sounds horrendous. How do people get your address and phone no from Tripadvisor? I thought you only had to leave your email address?

Sorry just realised I've gone right off topic.

Some people cannot take criticism no matter how valid.

I always review on TripAdvisor. My review of a b and b was very good until I made a critical remark regarding the the family room we'd had. It was really only big enough to be a double but they had shoved in an old set of bunk beds which didn't even have a top safety rail. I had complained to the b and b at the time.

The owner phoned me to challenge my review. He was very irate and tbh I was glad he was across the country and not nearer to where I live.

"I had something"

When I was a child my family travelled all over Europe and eating in cafés and restaurants, staying and dining in hotels was an integral part of my childhood from about the age of five – lucky, lucky me. I simply did the same thing with absentdaughter, taking her to restaurants and cafés and expecting "proper" behaviour. Absentgranchildren are following the same pattern. It isn't hard.

I do sympathise I something approach a run in with a local restaurant. I went to book for six adults a toddler and a 7mnth old baby who is very mobile, crawling and pulling himself up onto his feet. He needs firmly restraining in a high chair. I think he might over balance in a booster seat and his head still would not be above the table.

My three year old DGS has so far been very good in restaurants. He has dropped stuff and knocked things over but he enjoys sitting and talking during a meal.

Then I discovered that they did not have high chairs for babies only booster seats. I changed the booking and told the restaurant why and I posted this on trip advisor suggesting that proper highchairs would be a better option.

I was phoned by the very angry owner who ranted at me for my comments extremely unreasonable and that he was going to sue me for telling lies. He went on about how child friendly they were they had children of all ages playing and running about the restaurant. and that high chairs were a trip hazard. (Clearly young children running through his restaurant were not. )

He was a totally obnoxious man but as he had my name and phone number and I live very nearby I refrained from reporting that phone call.
(Other trip advisor posters have found him very rude to customers and his own staff who have been apologising to guests about his behaviour.)

I don't think that screens belong in restaurants even if waiting for food. It is a time to interact with humans!

Children have to learn to behave at the table. We don't have the TV on during meal times. Neither do we accept any toys/screens on the table. We eat with knives and forks and chat (but not with our mouths full. We expect the same behaviour when we are eating out.

I can't stand children running around, screaming and shouting in restaurants.. I also hate to see them eating with their hands/picking up large pieces of food with a fork then taking bites off it. I also hate to see anyone chewing with their mouth open. There are expected behaviours that we all conform to. The children are entitled to enjoy their meal but not at the expense of other's enjoyment.

A screen to hide the children??????? Good idea.

in one of our local places...they keep an area separate for families with young children,there is a small play area and the mums can keep an eye on their offspring, there are no children allowed past a certain point in the restaurant where adult diners eat.

Screens are good when you have to wait a long time for the food. Not whilst eating of course!

Yes annsixty weddings take place on Sunday. DS was married on a Sunday during the August bank holiday weekend.

Totally agree with Leticia about no tablets at the table. Converse with the children no matter what age they are. That's just plain good manners.

Off topic but related to my post,it was a Sunday evening when we were in the Beefeater and a little girl wandered through the restaurant in a pretty long dress with a coloured sash. Later a bride suddenly appeared in a very elaborate strapless wedding dress,she was neither young nor sylphlike, but looked very nice. I asked one of the staff if they had had a wedding party but he said ,no, they had just come to stay the night in the attached Premier Inn. I just thought it was rather odd not to have changed before travelling or even to come down for a meal, also do weddings take place on Sunday? She may have worn it all weekend.

NanandGrampy,you are spot on,Sadly the parents of badly behaved kids won't agree,mainly because to admit something is wrong means you have to put it right,and they can't or won't do that.
I can't stand that awful J,S,Porter.But I find most kids are fine,it's only the odd few.We had one little dear,grrr! She kept throwing the tray up in the air and delighting in the clatter it made as it landed.

A lot of family friendly restaurants give children colouring pencils and a paper place mat to colour in.
Sensible parents take a bag of kit in which they put age appropriate stuff with which to entertain their children. I just remembered that mine probably first learned learned to colour in quietly at Church on Sunday morning. My grandsons would sit with those transformer things, building creatures, colour in or read - yes they'd join in the conversation whilst eating but children need to be focussed on something interesting or they may well whinge or worse.

annsixty if the staff had intervened, you can bet your life it would not have gone down well with either parent...

I don't think they should have a screen when in a restaurant. Parents need to talk to them, include them in the conversation. I would ban all screens when eating- including at home.

We were recently eating at a Beefeater restaurant with friends ,and it is a fact that we don't eat out much due to DH's Alzheimer's and it was about 7:30pm.At the next table were two parents with children approx 4&6 they couldn't sit for 5mins they raced round and the mum after screaming at them to sit down yelled at dad that she couldn't cope and she wouldn't put up with it all. I wanted to agree with her so much.There was food on the table and on the floor, it really ruined our meal and our evening out. I felt the staff should have intervened but perhaps that is too much to expect.

Wouldn't be interested in dining with JS-P, though that's not likely to happen.

The most important element, in my humble opinion, is a screen. Keeps 'em quiet like nothing else.

We really enjoy eating out with our family. Oldest GS has been doing this since under 1 (he's 7 now). This is how children learn an important and enjoyable social skill, but the most important element is the adult supervision and example. Also pick your venue carefully.

I do think that some of the big chains have bent over so far backwards to be 'family friendly' that some people have come to expect play facilities in all eating places, and can get quite miffed if there are none.